roller coaster
noun
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.
a car or train of cars for such a railroad.
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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Origin of roller coaster
First recorded in 1885–90
Definition for roller coaster (2 of 2)
roller-coaster
[ roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li- ]
/ ˈroʊ lərˌkoʊ stər, ˈroʊ lɪ- /
verb (used without object)
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.
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
of, relating to, or characteristic of a roller coaster.
resembling the progress of a ride on a roller coaster in sudden extreme changeableness.
Origin of roller-coaster
First recorded in 1960–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for roller coaster
The next few months are a rollercoaster ride of good, bad, and ugly during which I discover two things.
An Epidemic of Absence: Destroying the Bugs in Our Bodies Can Be Dangerous to Our Health|Moises Velasquez-Manoff|September 9, 2012|DAILY BEASTThe next morning, you wish you had resisted, but as your day gets moving the rollercoaster starts again.
Andrew Neil on the overnight rollercoaster in Europe and Asia's markets.
British Dictionary definitions for roller coaster
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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