seesaw

[ see-saw ]

/ ˈsiˌsɔ /

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See synonyms for: seesaw / seesawed on Thesaurus.com

noun

a recreation in which two children alternately ride up and down while seated at opposite ends of a plank balanced at the middle.

a plank or apparatus for this recreation.

an up-and-down or a back-and-forth movement or procedure.

Whist. a crossruff.

adjective

moving up and down, back and forth, or alternately ahead and behind: It was a seesaw game with the lead changing hands many times.

verb (used without object)

to move in a seesaw manner: The boat seesawed in the heavy sea.

to ride or play on a seesaw.

to keep changing one's decision, opinion, or attitude; vacillate.

verb (used with object)

to cause to move in a seesaw manner.

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Origin of seesaw

1630–40 as part of a jingle accompanying a children's game; gradational compound based on saw¹

regional variation note for seesaw

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.

Words nearby seesaw

seer, see reason, see red, seeress, seersucker, seesaw, see someone off, see stars, seethe, see the back of, see the color of one's money

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for seesaw

Express forecastForecast in detailWe’re in for a bit of a weather seesaw over the next few days.
D.C.-area forecast: Trending milder before another burst of cold midweek|Brian Jackson|December 27, 2020|Washington Post
Washington tourist attractions have engaged in a seesaw battle with the coronavirus this year.
The Smithsonian and National of Gallery of Art have closed. Here’s what’s still open.|Fritz Hahn|November 23, 2020|Washington Post
As schools seesaw between open and closed, some teachers are left without direction, feeling undervalued and underutilized.
Teachers are leaving schools. Will they come to startups next?|Natasha Mascarenhas|October 30, 2020|TechCrunch
That seesaw season still gave the Brewers 91 wins in total, but their bad 60-game stretch — with a winning percentage 34 points below what they had in their other games — ultimately cost them a playoff spot.
Bad Teams May Be Posing As Good Teams In A 60-Game Baseball Season|Neil Paine (neil.paine@fivethirtyeight.com)|August 7, 2020|FiveThirtyEight

When your heartbeat is going, then it’s just loading up the seesaw to one side.
How Your Heart Influences What You Perceive and Fear|Jordana Cepelewicz|July 6, 2020|Quanta Magazine
After a back and forth seesaw race, both candidates were locked on 49% with 99% of the votes counted.
Runoff Required in Mississippi’s Dirtiest Primary|Ben Jacobs|June 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Absent a complete ban, or total irrationality, judges should simply step off the seesaw.
Hands Off Those Gun Laws, Judges|Eric Segall|June 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
If the government infringes a protected right, one side of the seesaw goes in the air and the right is lifted and protected.
Hands Off Those Gun Laws, Judges|Eric Segall|June 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After months of seesaw battles in the Sahara Desert, Libya's rebels are now making their first serious push to Tripoli.
The Battle for Tripoli||August 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
If it waits for the political seesaw by which both parties avoid responsibility, there will be small chance of a navy.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
I lay silent, watching a bird seesaw on the vine which clambers over my window-ledge in friendly fashion.
Mavis of Green Hill|Faith Baldwin
I whipped the car back, spun it in a seesaw, and took off back towards the first road block.
Highways in Hiding|George Oliver Smith
After prolonged northeast rain a bright day, and with it the setting of sail, a many-handed seesaw at the windlass, and departure.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 86, December, 1864|Various
There was a barrel or two, an enormous wooden ball, a collapsible fold-up seesaw and other impedimenta of a trained-animal act.
Sundry Accounts|Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for seesaw

seesaw

/ (ˈsiːˌsɔː) /

noun

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

the pastime of riding up and down on a seesaw

an up-and-down or back-and-forth movement
(as modifier)a seesaw movement

verb

(intr) to move up and down or back and forth in such a manner; oscillate

Word Origin for seesaw

C17: reduplication of saw 1, alluding to the movement from side to side, as in sawing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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