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roller coaster

1

noun

  1. a small gravity railroad, especially in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines that produce sudden, speedy plunges for thrill-seeking passengers.
  2. a car or train of cars for such a railroad.
  3. any phenomenon, period, or experience of persistent or violent ups and downs, as one fluctuating between prosperity and recession or elation and despair.


roller-coaster

2

[ roh-ler-koh-ster, roh-li- ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to go up and down like a roller coaster; rise and fall:

    a narrow road roller-coastering around the mountain; a light boat roller-coastering over the waves.

  2. to experience a period of prosperity, happiness, security, or the like, followed by a contrasting period of economic depression, despair, or the like:

    The economy was roller-coastering throughout most of the decade.

adjective

  1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a roller coaster.
  2. resembling the progress of a ride on a roller coaster in sudden extreme changeableness.

roller coaster

noun

  1. another term for big dipper
“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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Word History and Origins

Origin of roller coaster1

First recorded in 1885–90

Origin of roller coaster2

First recorded in 1960–65
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Taken together, it’s a trade war roller coaster that has business owners around the region scrambling to comprehend the effects on their profit margins and plot a viable path forward.

From

Those bonds seemed to only tighten Wednesday as they rode the emotional roller coaster with Doncic instead of leaving him to face it alone.

From

“The film is a roller coaster, which has divided audiences,” Ezban admits.

From

A roller coaster of emotions followed, she recalled, from “grief to rage” — the rage being the magnitude of a fire that destroyed more than 5,400 homes and killed 12 people.

From

Register that the park had initially hoped to reopen the ride, but sourcing replacement parts for the aging roller coaster had proved cost prohibitive.

From

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