cyclical

American

[sahy-kli-kuhl, sik-li-] / ˈsaɪ klɪ kəl, ˈsɪk lɪ- /

adjective

cyclic.
of or denoting a business or stock whose income, value, or earnings fluctuate widely according to variations in the economy or the cycle of the seasons.

Selling Christmas decorations is a cyclical business.

noun

Usually cyclicals. stocks of cyclical companies.

Other Word Forms

cyclicality noun
cyclically adverb
noncyclical adjective
noncyclically adverb
procyclical adjective

Etymology

Origin of cyclical

First recorded in 1810–20; cyclic + -al ¹

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Analysts question whether luxury’s slowdown is purely cyclical.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

"I wanted the repetition to mirror those cyclical thoughts - a spiral or a fixation on one specific feeling," she says.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

The memory market is historically cyclical, and some on Wall Street seem spooked by awareness of past cycles in which oversupply eroded industry profits.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026

Chip companies had been reluctant to add capacity due to the cyclical nature of the industry, but are now looking to expand cleanroom space to address the shortages.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 31, 2026

There then arose schools of thinkers who interpreted history as a cyclical process and claimed to show that inequality was the unalterable law of human life.

From "1984" by George Orwell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023