Dictionary Home »
Webster's New World College Dictionary » oscillate
oscillate
oscillate definition
os·cil·late (äs′ə lāt′)
intransitive verb oscillated -·lat′ed, oscillating -·lat′·ing
- to swing or move regularly back and forth
- to be indecisive in purpose or opinion; vacillate
- Physics to vary regularly between maximum and minimum values, as an electric current
Etymology: < L oscillatus, pp. of oscillare, to swing < oscillum, a swing
transitive verb
to cause to oscillate
Related Forms:
- oscillatory os′·cil·la·to′ry (-lə tôr′ē) adjective
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Comments
Improve this definition.
Share on Facebook