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ups and downs

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plural noun
  1. 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

  • He has shared the ups-and-downs of frontier struggles, always a faithful supporter of the Methodist church.

    Scandinavians on the Pacific, Puget Sound

    Thomas Ostenson Stine

British Dictionary definitions for ups and downs

ups and downs

pl n
  1. 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.