rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryfluctuateIrregular change
verb

fluctuate

FLUK-choo-ayt/ˈflʌktʃueɪt/

To vary irregularly or unpredictably over time.

The water level fluctuates as uneven waves rise and fall.

A simple patch of water with an irregular succession of small and large waves, their uneven crests and troughs making rising and falling immediately visible.
Etymology
fluctuateLatinto move in waves

Latin fluctuare describes movement in waves. That image of repeated rising and falling underlies the modern sense of varying irregularly, whether in amount, level, or condition.

In context

TÜBİTAK TBAE48:17
That vibrating earth causes the density of the earth to fluctuate a little bit as seismic waves pass by.
Introduction and Overview of Gravitational-Wave Astronomy Lecture 1/4 | Scott A. Hughes

More examples

  • The exchange rate fluctuates daily.
  • Demand fluctuated unpredictably.
  • The sensor recorded fluctuating pressure.

Forms

fluctuate · fluctuates · fluctuated · fluctuating

fluctuation noun — an irregular change

Similar words

vary
Vary is general; fluctuate suggests repeated, irregular rises and falls.
oscillate
Oscillate can be regular or periodic; fluctuate often implies unpredictability.