Dictionary.com

oscillation

[ os-uh-ley-shuhn ]
/ ˌɒs əˈleɪ ʃən /
Save This Word!

noun
an act or instance of oscillating.
a single swing or movement in one direction of an oscillating body.
fluctuation between beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.
Physics.
  1. an effect expressible as a quantity that repeatedly and regularly fluctuates above and below some mean value, as the pressure of a sound wave or the voltage of an alternating current.
  2. a single fluctuation between maximum and minimum values in such an effect.
Mathematics.
  1. the difference between the least upper bound and the greatest lower bound of the functional values of a function in a given interval.
  2. Also called saltus. the limit of the oscillation in an interval containing a given point, as the length of the interval approaches zero.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?

Origin of oscillation

1650–60; <Latin oscillātiōn- (stem of oscillātiō) a swinging, equivalent to oscillāt(us) (see oscillate) + -iōn--ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use oscillation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for oscillation

oscillation
/ (ˌɒsɪˈleɪʃən) /

noun
physics statistics
  1. regular fluctuation in value, position, or state about a mean value, such as the variation in an alternating current or the regular swinging of a pendulum
  2. a single cycle of such a fluctuation
the act or process of oscillating

Derived forms of oscillation

oscillatory (ˈɒsɪlətərɪ, -trɪ), adjective
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

Scientific definitions for oscillation

oscillation
[ ŏs′ə-lāshən ]

A repeating fluctuation in a physical object or quantity. See also attractor harmonic motion.
A single cycle of such fluctuation.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
FEEDBACK