roller coaster

¹ American  

noun

1. a small gravity railroad, especially in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers.

2. a car or train of cars for such a railroad.

3. any phenomenon, period, or experience of persistent or violent ups and downs, as one fluctuating between prosperity and recession or elation and despair.

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roller-coaster ² American  

[roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li-] / ˈroʊ lərˌkoʊ stər, ˈroʊ lɪ- /

verb (used without object)

1. to go up and down like a roller coaster; rise and fall.

   a narrow road roller-coastering around the mountain; a light boat roller-coastering over the waves.

2. to experience a period of prosperity, happiness, security, or the like, followed by a contrasting period of economic depression, despair, or the like.

   The economy was roller-coastering throughout most of the decade.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a roller coaster.

2. resembling the progress of a ride on a roller coaster in sudden extreme changeableness.

roller coaster British  

noun

1. another term for big dipper

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Etymology

Origin of roller coaster¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of roller-coaster²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

Opened on Dec. 31 as part of the Six Flags Qiddiya City theme park, the roller coaster ranks as the world’s fastest, tallest and longest.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

‘It’s been a roller coaster ride, for sure,’ he says.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

Despite the underlying momentum, sharp swings in trade policy over the course of the year sent the economic data on a roller coaster ride.

From BBC • Feb. 20, 2026

Homemade electricity would help get it off the price roller coaster caused by tense geopolitics.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

I wake up with my heart beating fast, not like flying, kind of like a roller coaster.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon