seesaw
Americannoun
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seesaws
plural
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a recreation in which two children alternately ride up and down while seated at opposite ends of a plank balanced at the middle.
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a plank or apparatus for this recreation.
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an up-and-down or a back-and-forth movement or procedure.
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Whist. a crossruff.
adjective
verb (used without object)
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seesaws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
seesawed,
past participle, past
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seesawing
present participle
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to move in a seesaw manner.
The boat seesawed in the heavy sea.
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to ride or play on a seesaw.
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to keep changing one's decision, opinion, or attitude; vacillate.
verb (used with object)
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seesaws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
seesawed,
past participle, past
-
seesawing
present participle
noun
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a plank balanced in the middle so that two people seated on the ends can ride up and down by pushing on the ground with their feet
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the pastime of riding up and down on a seesaw
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an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement
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( as modifier )
a seesaw movement
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verb
Regionalisms
Although seesaw (def. 2) is the most widely used term in the U.S., teetertotter is also in wide use in the Northern, North Midland, and Western regions. Tilting board and its variants tilt board and tiltering board are New Eng. terms, especially Eastern New Eng., while tinter and its variant teenter are associated with Western New Eng.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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seesawsimple
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seesawssimple
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have seesawedperfect
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has seesawedperfect
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am seesawingprogressive
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are seesawingprogressive
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is seesawingprogressive
-
have been seesawingperfect progressive
-
has been seesawingperfect progressive
Past
-
seesawedsimple
-
had seesawedperfect
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was seesawingprogressive
-
were seesawingprogressive
-
had been seesawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of seesaw
1630–40 as part of a jingle accompanying a children's game; gradational compound based on saw 1
Explanation
A seesaw is a piece of playground equipment made of a board balanced on a center support. To play on a seesaw, you sit on one end with a friend on the other end, moving up and down. You might also call a seesaw a teeter-totter — they are common in parks and on school playgrounds. When you sit on a seesaw, with your friend on the opposite side, each of you takes turns pushing up off the ground. When you go up into the air, your friend touches the ground, and when your friend goes up, you go down. Seesaw comes from the French ci-ça, or "this-that."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She ultimately took a later flight, but that didn’t put a stop to their emotional seesaw.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
He compared his job to being on a seesaw: if he stepped down, his co-workers would struggle to keep going.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Over the past month or so, daily action, particularly in the U.S., has started to resemble a seesaw.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
By early this year, the valuation gap between the two sides of the seesaw looked extreme.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
First there was a seesaw, then a tree branch to swing from, a big jungle gym and two ladders: one to climb and one to walk across like a bridge.
From "The World According to Humphrey" by Betty G. Birney
At the bottom, few public playgrounds these days feature seesaws or monkey bars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
The show "seesaws between thrilling and annoying", according to USA Today's Kelly Lawler, while the Atlantic's Sophie Gilbert described most of it as "largely joyless and grim".
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2025
Bonds are like seesaws: The yield falls when the price rises.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 22, 2025
His performance as Seth Milchick in Season 2 of “Severance” showcases his range, as his character seesaws from a cheery to chilling middle manager.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025
During recess the boys would divide in two groups, chasing each other wildly around the swings and seesaws, Redcoats against the colonies.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
U.S. energy stocks have vaulted upward despite white-knuckle moments when oil prices seesawed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 3, 2026
Japan's debts are more than twice the size of the entire economy, and in recent weeks yields on long-dated bonds have hit record highs while the yen has seesawed.
From Barron's ● Feb. 7, 2026
Meanwhile, Chewy’s stock seesawed to a decline of 0.3% in recent afternoon trading.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 10, 2025
At other times, the 26-year-old charged with murdering the chief executive of UnitedHealthcare seesawed between pain and numbness in his lower back and genital area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2024
The fickle Fulcrum of Fortune had seesawed back again, this time with Penelope on the upward-bound seat.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
The seesawing shift in ocean temperatures and winds forms across the tropical Pacific Ocean but can influence drought, floods, and other extremes thousands of miles away.
From Barron's ● Jun. 11, 2026
What’s off about Patience is a seesawing set of symptoms.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026
After seesawing results for almost 24 hours, Caruso conceded the race to Bass on Wednesday night.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 2, 2026
A bit of seesawing is likely in the short term.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 2, 2026
The fulcrum of fortune has a way of seesawing from one condition to its opposite with no warning, like a sudden squall on an otherwise balmy day.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
