stop-and-go
Americanadjective
Etymology
Origin of stop-and-go
First recorded in 1920–25
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.
Construction on the ballroom has been stop-and-go since late March, when a federal judge halted progress after deeming it to be wildly illegal absent congressional approval.
From Slate • Apr. 28, 2026
Legal challenges to Trump’s plans have made construction of Trump’s $400 million ballroom a stop-and-go affair.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
When officials confronted a similar dilemma, during the so-called stagflation of the 1970s, the central bank’s stop-and-go response allowed high inflation to become entrenched.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 10, 2025
Team principal Andrea Stella said the decision to give Norris a 10-second stop-and-go penalty - the severest that can be handed out other than a disqualification - "lacked any specificity and proportion".
From BBC • Dec. 2, 2024
As I drive through Manhattan, I pull to a stop at the first hint of a yellow light and try not to tailgate through the stop-and-go traffic.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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.
