business cycle

noun

1. a recurrent fluctuation in the total business activity of a country.

business cycle

noun

1. the recurrent fluctuation between boom and depression in the economic activity of a capitalist country Also calledtrade cycle

business cycle

1. A period during which business activity reaches a low point, recovers, expands, reaches a high point, decreases to a new low point, and so on.

Word History and Origins

Origin of business cycle¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

But a brigade of academic economists and prominent voices on Wall Street are asking if the unruly business cycle they learned in school, and witnessed in practice, has fundamentally morphed into a tamer beast.

From New York Times

Her Advanced Placement economics course covers such topics as supply and demand, monetary policy, inflation, unemployment, gross domestic product, the peaks and recessions of the business cycle, fiscal policy and the Federal Reserve.

From Los Angeles Times

Two consecutive quarters of contraction is a common definition of recession, though economists on the eurozone business cycle dating committee use a broader set of data, including employment figures.

From Seattle Times

"This has been our view that we have reached the terminal rate for this business cycle."

From Reuters

The additional business cycle expectations index reflects respondents' assessment of the general economic situation over the next 12 months.

From Reuters