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fluctuation

[ fluhk-choo-ey-shuh n ]
/ ˌflʌk tʃuˈeɪ ʃən /
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noun

continual change from one point or condition to another.
wavelike motion; undulation.
Genetics. a body variation due to environmental factors and not inherited.

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RELATED WORDS

variation, change, inconstancy

Nearby words

  1. flu,
  2. flub,
  3. flubdub,
  4. fluctuant,
  5. fluctuate,
  6. flucytosine,
  7. fludrocortisone acetate,
  8. flue,
  9. flue gas,
  10. flue pipe

Origin of fluctuation

1400–50; late Middle English < Latin fluctuātiōn- (stem of fluctuātiō) a fluctuation, wavering. See fluctuate, -ion
Related formsnon·fluc·tu·a·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fluctuation

British Dictionary definitions for fluctuation

fluctuation

/ (ˌflʌktjʊˈeɪʃən) /

noun

constant change; vacillation; instability
undulation
a variation in an animal or plant that is determined by environment rather than heredity
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fluctuation

fluctuation

n.

mid-15c., from Middle French fluctuation (12c.) or directly from Latin fluctuationem (nominative fluctuatio) "a wavering, vacillation," noun of action from past participle stem of fluctuare "to undulate, to move in waves," from fluctus "wave, billow, surge," from past participle of fluere "to flow" (see fluent).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper