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.
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.
of, relating to, or characteristic of a roller coaster.
resembling the progress of a ride on a roller coaster in sudden extreme changeableness.
First recorded in 1885–90
First recorded in 1960–65
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Officers working at the park responded to an incident involving a male guest on a roller coaster," it said in a statement on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
A fatal accident on a Six Flags Entertainment roller coaster sent shares of the amusement-park operator on Tuesday near the lowest level of the year.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 13, 2026
Attorneys at Dordick Law, who are acting for Greer-Wilkinson, said they had been contacted by more than 100 people who say they were injured by the roller coaster.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
Syracuse has been on an enrollment roller coaster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
Imagine going up on a roller coaster, but with no seat belt, no car, no track, and no sense of security besides your grip.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Three years later, Kane and Abel, a ripping page-turner about the roller-coaster financial fortunes of two men who initially shared nothing but a date of birth, flew off the shelves.
From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026
But investors are still waiting for Argentina's roller-coaster economy to "prove that what it's doing will actually be sustainable over time," economist Marcelo Elizondo told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Chinese humanoid-robotics companies could face a narrower path to public markets as authorities seek to calm the frenzy that followed robot maker Unitree’s roller-coaster listing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for Netflix investors over the past 12 months, following the company’s aggressive foray into the mergers-and-acquisitions market — namely, its failed effort to acquire Warner Bros.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026
The fence clangs and twangs like a weird musical instrument, and the nose of the truck begins to dip forward, revealing a gorge like a roller-coaster drop.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
