ups and downs
- rises and falls of fortune; good and bad times: Every business has its ups and downs.
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Origin of ups and downs
First recorded in 1650–60
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for ups and downs
Historical Examples of ups and downs
He has shared the ups-and-downs of frontier struggles, always a faithful supporter of the Methodist church.
Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget SoundThomas Ostenson Stine
ups and downs
- alternating periods of good and bad fortune, high and low spirits, etc
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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
Idioms and Phrases with ups and downs
ups and downs
Good times and bad times, successes and failures, as in We've had our ups and downs but things are going fairly well now. This term was first recorded in 1659.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.