oscillation

[ os-uh-ley-shuhn ]

noun

1. an act or instance of oscillating.
2. a single swing or movement in one direction of an oscillating body.
3. fluctuation between beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.
4. Physics.
   1. an effect expressible as a quantity that repeatedly and regularly fluctuates above and below some mean value, as the pressure of a sound wave or the voltage of an alternating current.
   2. a single fluctuation between maximum and minimum values in such an effect.
5. Mathematics.
   1. the difference between the least upper bound and the greatest lower bound of the functional values of a function in a given interval.
   2. Also called saltus. the limit of the oscillation in an interval containing a given point, as the length of the interval approaches zero.

oscillation

/ ˈɒsɪlətərɪ; ˌɒsɪˈleɪʃən; -trɪ /

noun

1. physics statistics
   1. regular fluctuation in value, position, or state about a mean value, such as the variation in an alternating current or the regular swinging of a pendulum
   2. a single cycle of such a fluctuation
2. the act or process of oscillating

oscillation

/ ŏs′ə-lā′shən /

1. A repeating fluctuation in a physical object or quantity.
2. See also attractor
3. A single cycle of such fluctuation.

Derived Forms

• oscillatory, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of oscillation¹

1650–60; < Latin oscillātiōn- (stem of oscillātiō ) a swinging, equivalent to oscillāt ( us ) ( oscillate ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

La Niña is the cold phase of a climate pattern known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycle, or ENSO.

From Los Angeles Times

La Niña, the drier component of the El Niño Southern Oscillation system, is still developing in the Pacific Ocean, officials said, but if its conditions align, it could help usher in a shorter and drier winter — and possibly a return to drought.

From Los Angeles Times

Atlantic temperatures have been higher over the last decade, mainly because of climate change and a natural weather pattern known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation.

From BBC

La Niña is the drier component of the El Niño Southern Oscillation system, or ENSO, which is a main driver of climate and weather patterns across the globe.

From Los Angeles Times

The data favor the "normal" ordering of neutrino masses more strongly than before, but ambiguity remains around the neutrino's oscillation properties.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• vibration