fluctuate
Americanverb (used without object)
-
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)
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.
Related Words
See waver 1.
Other Word Forms
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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List 3
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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.
Newmarket 1.40 Wood Ditton third Fluctuate won an ordinary all-weather event with any amount in hand last time and the handicapper has not overburdened him with a starting mark of 90.
From The Guardian • Jul. 13, 2012
Fluctuate, fluk′tū-āt, v.i. to float backward and forward: to roll hither and thither: to be irresolute.—v.t. to cause to move hither and thither.—adjs.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
Here go the Funds, up, up, And there go Consols, down, down, Fluctuate backwards and forwards, And then come around, round, round, Nicholas cries, "No, no!"
From Punch - Volume 25 (Jul-Dec 1853) by Various
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.
