roller coaster

¹

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.

roller-coaster

²

[roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li-]

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.

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

noun

1. another term for big dipper

Word History and Origins

Origin of roller coaster¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of roller coaster²

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

But behind the aquatic-themed roller coasters and dolphin performances was a dark history of documented mistreatment of animals and lingering financial problems.

Read more on BBC

But she and her coaching team have made managing the roller coaster of major matches a priority.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

It led to a roller coaster of a week in late September, in which the company abruptly closed hundreds of stores and laid off thousands of employees.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Deaths at theme parks are rare, but not impossible, and Speigel pointed to the passing of a 32-year-old man last month aboard a roller coaster at Universal Studios Epic Universe in Orlando.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

This has been a roller coaster season for the Chargers, a microcosm of which happened at the end of the first half.

Read more on Los Angeles Times