business cycle

American  

noun

1. a recurrent fluctuation in the total business activity of a country.

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business cycle British  

noun

1. Also called: trade cycle.  the recurrent fluctuation between boom and depression in the economic activity of a capitalist country

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business cycle Cultural  

1. A period during which business activity reaches a low point, recovers, expands, reaches a high point, decreases to a new low point, and so on.

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Etymology

Origin of business cycle

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

In the later stages of the business cycle, more money is allocated into “defensive” sectors, which tend to be relatively stable regardless of economic conditions.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 22, 2026

For investors, healthcare stocks are beneficiaries of a trend that doesn’t have much to do with the business cycle, that monetary policy can’t slow, and that demographics won’t reverse.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

State Street Investment Management said in a recent business cycle analysis, that during economic expansion, “financials’ outperformance is quite consistent, as they beat the market in 11 out of 13 expansion phases.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 14, 2026

While monetary policy is able to address cyclical conditions like a downturn in the business cycle, it cannot address the structural factors that determine rates of employment in the long term, he added.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

The equation of exchange should cover the whole business cycle, to fit in with the theory.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.