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seesaw - 8 dictionary results
see⋅saw
[see-saw] 
–noun
| 1. | a recreation in which two children alternately ride up and down while seated at opposite ends of a plank balanced at the middle. |
| 2. | a plank or apparatus for this recreation. |
| 3. | an up-and-down or a back-and-forth movement or procedure. |
| 4. | Whist. a crossruff. |
–adjective
| 5. | moving up and down, back and forth, or alternately ahead and behind: It was a seesaw game with the lead changing hands many times. |
–verb (used without object)
| 6. | to move in a seesaw manner: The boat seesawed in the heavy sea. |
| 7. | to ride or play on a seesaw. |
| 8. | to keep changing one's decision, opinion, or attitude; vacillate. |
–verb (used with object)
| 9. | to cause to move in a seesaw manner. |
Origin:
1630–40 as part of a jingle accompanying a children's game; gradational compound based on saw 1
1630–40 as part of a jingle accompanying a children's game; gradational compound based on saw 1
Regional variation note:
Although seesaw (def. 2) is the most widely used term in the U.S., teetertotter is also in wide use in the Northern, North Midland, and Western regions. Tilting board and its variants tilt board and tiltering board are New Eng. terms, esp. Eastern New Eng., while tinter and its variant teenter are associated with Western New Eng.
Although seesaw (def. 2) is the most widely used term in the U.S., teetertotter is also in wide use in the Northern, North Midland, and Western regions. Tilting board and its variants tilt board and tiltering board are New Eng. terms, esp. Eastern New Eng., while tinter and its variant teenter are associated with Western New Eng.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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|
Link To seesaw
| see·saw (sē'sô') n.
[Reduplication of saw1.] |
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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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Seesaw
See"saw`\, n. [Probably a reduplication of saw, to express the alternate motion to and fro, as in the act of sawing.]1. A play among children in which they are seated upon the opposite ends of a plank which is balanced in the middle, and move alternately up and down. 2. A plank or board adjusted for this play. 3. A vibratory or reciprocating motion. He has been arguing in a circle; there is thus a seesaw between the hypothesis and fact. --Sir W. Hamilton. 4. (Whist.) Same as Crossruff.Seesaw
See"saw`\, v. t. To cause to move backward and forward in seesaw fashion. He seesaws himself to and fro. --Ld. Lytton.Seesaw
See"saw`\, a. Moving up and down, or to and fro; having a reciprocating motion.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : seesaw
Spanish:
balancín,
German:
die Wippe,
Japanese:
シーソー
seesaw
1640, in see-saw-sacke a downe, words in a rhythmic jingle used by children and repetitive motion workers, probably imitative of the rhythmic back-and-forth motion of sawyers working a two-man saw over wood or stone (see saw). Ref. to a game of going up and down on a balanced plank is recorded from 1704; fig. sense is from 1714. Applied from 1824 to the plank arranged for the game. The verb is from 1712.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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SEESAW language
An early system on the IBM 701.
[Listed in CACM 2(5):16 (May 1959)].
(1994-12-15)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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