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.
For Navarrette, the success of the movie has been a roller coaster, but she is "taking it day by day."
From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026
SpaceX may be a rocket company, but nowadays it feels more like a roller coaster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
“It was a never a roller coaster kind of park,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
That Jackson’s ascension by convention counts as normal is less a reflection of the process itself than a product of the preconvention roller coaster ride that brought Democrats to where they are now.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
When they descended, Nathan’s stomach and lungs dropped like he was on a roller coaster.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
The tariff roller-coaster of the past year-and-a-half or so has weighed on Canada’s economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
You can’t help but analyze the roller-coaster ride we’re all on: the art form we love within an industry that it necessitates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
Confidence among German firms picked up a little this month as expectations for business climbed, though the roller-coaster ride of oil prices in recent weeks suggests that this recovery could be fragile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The second half of the year is here after a roller-coaster first six months.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
The transporter must hear me because it suddenly shoots upward and the roller-coaster ride starts all over again.
From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
