fluctuate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
fluctuates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluctuated,
past participle, past
-
fluctuating
present participle
-
to change continually; shift back and forth; vary irregularly.
The price of gold fluctuated wildly last month.
-
to move back and forth in waves.
- Synonyms:
- oscillate
verb (used with object)
-
fluctuates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
fluctuated,
past participle, past
-
fluctuating
present participle
verb
-
to change or cause to change position constantly; be or make unstable; waver or vary
-
(intr) to rise and fall like a wave; undulate
Usage
What does fluctuate mean? Fluctuate means to continually change or shift back and forth. The verb is most commonly used in the context of abstract or intangible things that frequently change, such as temperature, the stock market, or someone’s mood. This kind of continual change is called fluctuation. Example: The volume on my TV keeps fluctuating—it gets louder during commercials and then it gets quiet again when the show comes back on.
Synonym Usage
See waver 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
fluctuatesimple
-
fluctuatessimple
-
have fluctuatedperfect
-
has fluctuatedperfect
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am fluctuatingprogressive
-
are fluctuatingprogressive
-
is fluctuatingprogressive
-
have been fluctuatingperfect progressive
-
has been fluctuatingperfect progressive
Past
-
fluctuatedsimple
-
had fluctuatedperfect
-
was fluctuatingprogressive
-
were fluctuatingprogressive
-
had been fluctuatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of fluctuate
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fluctuātus “undulated,” past participle of fluctuāre “to flow,” equivalent to fluctu(s) “a flowing” (derivative of fluere “to flow”) + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
Something that fluctuates varies or changes — it's the opposite of steady. Like the ups and downs of the stock market or the relationship status of a Hollywood starlet. Fluctuate is a verb that describes movement, sometimes irregular, but often rising and falling in a wave-like pattern. The tides fluctuate according to the weather and season, for example. Your emotions fluctuate depending on what happens throughout the day, and so does your weight. In fact, you usually weigh less in the morning, before you've eaten. You're also taller, since your spine compresses as you walk around. So your height fluctuates, too.
Vocabulary lists containing fluctuate
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Darius the Great Is Not Okay
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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.
See Examples For:
Variable rates can fluctuate with the market and increase the total cost of paying off the loan.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
PDD PDD -1.27%decrease; down pointing triangle Holdings has cautioned that its financial performance could fluctuate as it strengthens its e-commerce ecosystem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
However, the photons in each type of light fluctuate and interact in different ways.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026
The secondary market allows fans to re-sell their tickets, potentially opening chances to see sold-through or popular sports, but the prices could fluctuate drastically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
She weighed herself once per week, and although her weight did not fluctuate more than the three pounds her doctor assured her was normal, she took pains to maintain herself.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
As packages are unveiled and sold, available inventory on the website fluctuates — which means fans can spend a lot of time checking and rechecking.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It’s one of the largest concentrations of capybaras in São Paulo, though its exact number of members fluctuates.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
That reaction is mainly driven by changes in progesterone levels, which peak, and oestrogen, which fluctuates, triggering strong feelings of despair, loss and a lack of control.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
Joseph said that their annual spending fluctuates based on the work that needs to be done.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 5, 2026
In addition, receptivity to innovation fluctuates in time within the same region.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The revenues of 1736 Family Crisis Center have fluctuated in recent years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Since then, global oil prices have fluctuated wildly.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
But numbers provided by officials have fluctuated wildly.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
For most of the past decade that gap fluctuated between $10 and $15 a barrel.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
The number of people who lived in the home at any given time fluctuated between five and nine, which made for tight living conditions.
From "The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates" by Wes Moore
Taipei, Singapore, Jakarta and and Wellington were also up, with Manila fluctuating.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
What the polls generally failed to foresee—and arguably shouldn’t have been expected to, given the fluctuating field—was that just enough voters would ultimately coalesce behind Crowley to put him over the top.
From Slate ● Aug. 12, 2026
But fluctuating property taxes presented an additional financial challenge.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
Affordability challenges, high material costs and fluctuating mortgage rates continue to pressure homebuilding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Instead of having fluctuating populations that periodically outran their resources and starved, they maintained smaller populations that enjoyed an abundance of food in good years and a sufficiency in bad years.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
