pendulum
noun
pen·du·lum
| \ ˈpen-jə-ləm
, ˈpen-dyə-, -də-\
, ˈpen-dyə-, -də-\
Definition of pendulum
1
: a body suspended from a fixed point so as to swing freely to and fro under the action of gravity and commonly used to regulate movements (as of clockwork)
2
: something (such as a state of affairs) that alternates between opposites
doesn't take much to swing the pendulum of opinion the other way
Examples of pendulum in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Will the shift toward committee backfields continue, or will the pendulum swing back in the other direction? — Kevin Scott, SI.com, "Fantasy Football 2019: Running Back Position Primer," 6 Aug. 2019 But today the pendulum has turned back to a more balanced view of the corporation, which the Business Roundtable embraced at its founding in 1972. — Judith Samuelson, Quartz at Work, "Did the Business Roundtable just sound the death knell for shareholder primacy?," 19 Aug. 2019 The pendulum keeps swinging left and right, left and right. — Lisa Lerer, BostonGlobe.com, "Israel’s strong embrace of Trump is hammering wedge among US Jews," 17 Aug. 2019 The pendulum keeps swinging left and right, left and right. — Lisa Lerer, New York Times, "Israel’s Alliance With Trump Creates New Tensions Among American Jews," 17 Aug. 2019 Ironically, the pendulum has started to swing for Shiraz as well. — Fortune, "Australia’s New Wave of Winemakers Won’t Make Shiraz," 11 Aug. 2019 Whether this data will lead more teams to utilize three-down backs is still undetermined, but there are signs the pendulum has started to go in the other direction. — Kevin Scott, SI.com, "Fantasy Football 2019: Running Back Position Primer," 6 Aug. 2019 But these measures can be viewed as an important, needed first step after the policy-making pendulum has been swinging against America's workers for decades. — Steven Greenhouse For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "We need to ask the 2020 candidates what they will do for workers," 28 June 2019 The political pendulum had shifted to the left with the presidential election of Bill Clinton, putting an end to 12 years of Republican dominance. — Brock Keeling, Curbed, "The rise and fall of Laguna Beach, a gay California hotspot," 26 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pendulum.' 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 pendulum
pendulum
noun
English Language Learners Definition of pendulum
: a stick with a weight at the bottom that swings back and forth inside a clock
See the full definition for pendulum in the English Language Learners Dictionary
pendulum
noun
pen·du·lum
| \ ˈpen-jə-ləm
, -dyə-\
, -dyə-\
Kids Definition of pendulum
: a weight hung from a point so as to swing freely back and forth under the action of gravity
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