Adjacent Words

seesaw definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a plaything consisting of a board balanced on a fulcrum; the board is ridden up and down by children at either end [syn: seesaw, teeter, teeter-totter, teetertotter, teeterboard, tilting board, dandle board] v
1: ride on a plank [syn: teeter-totter, teetertotter, seesaw]
2: move up and down as if on a seesaw
3: move unsteadily, with a rocking motion [syn: teeter, seesaw, totter]

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: probably from reduplication of ³saw Date: 1704 1. an alternating up-and-down or backward-and-forward motion or movement; also a contest or struggle in which now one side now the other has the lead 2. a. a pastime in which two children or groups of children ride on opposite ends of a plank balanced in the middle so that one end goes up as the other goes down b. the plank or apparatus so used • seesaw adjective II. verb Date: 1712 intransitive verb 1. a. to move backward and forward or up and down b. to play at seesaw 2. alternate <seesaw between two activities> transitive verb to cause to move in seesaw fashion

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seesaw See"saw`, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Seesawad; p. pr. & vb. n. Seesawing.] To move with a reciprocating motion; to move backward and forward, or upward and downward.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seesaw See"saw`, v. t. To cause to move backward and forward in seesaw fashion. He seesaws himself to and fro. --Ld. Lytton.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seesaw See"saw`, a. Moving up and down, or to and fro; having a reciprocating motion.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Crossruff Cross"ruff` (-r?f`), n. (Whist) The play in whist where partners trump each a different suit, and lead to each other for that purpose; -- called also seesaw.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

also see-saw(seesaws, seesawing, seesawed) 1. A seesaw is a long board which is balanced on a fixed part in the middle. To play on it, a child sits on each end, and when one end goes up, the other goes down. There was a sandpit, a seesaw and a swing in the playground. N-COUNT 2. In a seesaw situation, something continually changes from one state to another and back again. ...a seesaw price situation. ADJ: ADJ n • Seesaw is also a noun. Marriage, however, is an emotional seesaw. N-COUNT: usu sing 3. If someone's emotions see-saw, or a particular situation see-saws, they continually change from one state to another and back again. The Tokyo stock market see-sawed up and down. VERB: V

Moby Thesaurus

Ferris wheel, Lissajous figure, alternate, alternately, alternation, back and fill, back and forth, back-and-forth, backward and forward, backwards and forwards, battledore and shuttlecock, cant, carousel, chute-the-chutes, chutes, coaction, come and go, coming and going, complementary distribution, concurrence, cooperation, ebb and flow, engagement, flounder, fluctuate, flux and reflux, flying horses, go through phases, hitch and hike, in and out, incline, interaction, interchange, intercommunication, intercourse, interlacing, intermeshing, interplay, intertwining, interweaving, interworking, lean, list, lurch, merry-go-round, mesh, meshing, metronome, mutatis mutandis, off and on, oscillate, oscillator, pass and repass, pendulate, pendulum, pitch, quid pro quo, reciprocal, reciprocally, reciprocate, reciprocation, reciprocative, rhythmic play, ride and tie, ring the changes, rock, rocker, rocking chair, rocking stone, roll, roller coaster, round and round, roundabout, seesawing, shift, shuffle, shuttle, shuttlecock, shuttlewise, sine wave, stagger, swag, sway, swing, teeter, teeter-totter, teeter-tottering, teeterboard, teetering, teetery-bender, tilt, tilter, tit for tat, to and fro, to-and-fro, totter, tottering, turn, up and down, up-and-down, ups and downs, vacillate, vary, vibrator, vice versa, waver, wax and wane, whip, whirligig, wibble-wabble, wigwag, wobble, yaw, zigzag