oscillate
verb
os·cil·late
| \ ˈä-sə-ˌlāt
\
\
oscillated;
oscillating
Definition of oscillate
1a
: to swing backward and forward like a pendulum
The fan was oscillating.
b
: to move or travel back and forth between two points
he oscillates regularly between his comfortable home … and his downtown office-laboratory— Gladwin Hill
2
: to vary between opposing beliefs, feelings, or theories
The mood of the voters has oscillated between optimism and pessimism.
3
: to vary above and below a mean value
Bank rate oscillates between 2 and 6 percent.
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Other Words from oscillate
oscillatory
\ ˈä-sə-lə-ˌtȯr-ē
\
adjective
\
adjective
Examples of oscillate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Inside the charging pad is an induction coil that creates an oscillating electromagnetic field. — Courtney Linder, Popular Mechanics, "How Does Wireless Charging Work?," 1 Sep. 2019 Photons can be distinguished by their color (wavelength), how pure that color is (or more technically, coherence), the orientation of their oscillating electric field (known as polarization), their spatial shape, and their arrival time. — Chris Lee, Ars Technica, "Identical photons generated 150 million kilometers apart," 22 Aug. 2019 Knobloch recommends the multidirectional variable speed oscillating fan from GreenTech Environmental ($129, homedepot.com). — Michelle Brunner, Twin Cities, "Expert tips to keep the summer swelter from trapping you inside," 7 Aug. 2019 Indeed, Gregor oscillates between the kind and vicious versions of this story. — David Canfield, EW.com, "Going Dutch is a hilarious, feverish deconstruction of gay millennial life," 19 Aug. 2019 The stories oscillate between mysterious, dark and, at times, humorous, to paint a complicated picture of the dynamics between men and women. — Annabel Gutterman, Time, "Barack Obama Shares His 2019 Summer Reading List," 14 Aug. 2019 Johnson oscillated between supporting either leaving or remaining, before throwing his weight suddenly behind the Leave campaign. — Natasha Frost, Quartz, "No, Boris Johnson isn’t the UK’s Donald Trump," 25 July 2019 Inside a sprawling midcentury modern house in the West Hollywood hills, Mereba and her lover oscillate between silence and bursts of fleeting joy through a black and white filter. — Lauren Valenti, Vogue, "Rising Singer Mereba Serves Up Regal Beauty in Her New “Sandstorm” Music Video," 9 July 2019 Quartz crystals oscillate at a regular frequency when electrical current passes through them, which is why they are used to in clocks to keep track of time. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "How a Toaster-Sized Atomic Clock Could Pave the Way for Deep Space Exploration," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'oscillate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for oscillate
oscillate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of oscillate
: to move in one direction and then back again many times
formal
: to keep changing from one belief, feeling, condition, etc., to an opposite one
technical
: to change in strength or direction regularly
See the full definition for oscillate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
oscillate
verb
os·cil·late
| \ ˈä-sə-ˌlāt
\
\
oscillated;
oscillating
Kids Definition of oscillate
: to swing or move back and forth between two points
oscillate
intransitive verb
os·cil·late
| \ ˈäs-ə-ˌlāt
\
\
oscillated;
oscillating
Medical Definition of oscillate
1
: to swing backward and forward like a pendulum
2
: to move or travel back and forth between two points
Other Words from oscillate
oscillatory
\ ˈäs-ə-lə-ˌtōr-ē, -ˌtȯr-
\
adjective
\
adjective
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