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fluctuation

 - 4 dictionary results

fluc⋅tu⋅a⋅tion

  [fluhk-choo-ey-shuhn]
Use fluctuation in a Sentence
–noun
1. continual change from one point or condition to another.
2. wavelike motion; undulation.
3. Genetics. a body variation due to environmental factors and not inherited.
Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L fluctuātiōn- (s. of fluctuātiō) a fluctuation, wavering. See fluctuate, -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To fluctuation
fluc·tu·ate   (flŭk'chōō-āt')   
v.   fluc·tu·at·ed, fluc·tu·at·ing, fluc·tu·ates

v.   intr.

  1. To vary irregularly. See Synonyms at swing.

  2. To rise and fall in or as if in waves; undulate.

v.   tr.
To cause to rise and fall or vary irregularly.

[Latin flūctuāre, flūctuāt-, from flūctus, a flowing, from past participle of fluere, to flow; see bhleu- in Indo-European roots.]
fluc'tu·ant (-ənt) adj., fluc'tu·a'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

fluctuation 
c.1450, from L. fluctuationem (nom. fluctuatio), from fluctuare "to undulate," from fluctus "wave," from pp. of fluere "to flow" (see fluent). Fluctuate is from 1634.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: fluc·tu·a·tion
Pronunciation: "fl&k-ch&-'wA-sh&n
Function: noun
1 : a motion like that of waves;especially : the wavelike motion of a fluid collected in a natural or artificial cavity of the body observed by palpation or percussion
2 a : a slight andnonheritable variation; especially : such a variation occurring in response to environmental factors b : recurrent and often more or less cyclic alteration (as of form,size, or color of a bodily part) —fluc·tu·ate /'fl&k-ch&-"wAt/ verb -at·ed; -at·ing
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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