fluctuatefluc‧tu‧ate /ˈflʌktʃueɪt/ ●○○ AWL verb [intransitive] 
Prices were volatile, fluctuating between $20 and $40.fluctuate around The number of children in the school fluctuates around 100. Insect populations fluctuate wildly from year to year.
WORD ORIGINfluctuate
Origin:
1600-1700 Latin fluctuare, from fluere; ➔ FLUENTVERB TABLE
fluctuate
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | fluctuate |
| he, she, it | fluctuates | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | fluctuated |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have fluctuated |
| he, she, it | has fluctuated | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had fluctuated |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will fluctuate |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have fluctuated |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am fluctuating |
| he, she, it | is fluctuating | |
| you, we, they | are fluctuating | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was fluctuating |
| you, we, they | were fluctuating | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been fluctuating |
| he, she, it | has been fluctuating | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been fluctuating |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be fluctuating |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been fluctuating |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Cholesterol levels in the blood fluctuate in the course of a day.
- Share prices on the New York Stock Exchange often fluctuate wildly.
- The car industry's annual production fluctuates between 5.1 million and 9.2 million vehicles.
- The state's income from sales taxes fluctuates with the economy.
- Although each series will get a general rating based on its usual content, they can fluctuate from week to week.
- As the numbers fluctuate, old job identities are destroyed.
- It will certainly be different for different species, and it may fluctuate within each species.
- Seven races made up the first championship and that number has fluctuated over the years.
- This procedure does not allow for adaptability, essential for applications such as process control, which must change as conditions fluctuate.
- This wealth will continue to fluctuate with the share price until he decides to cash in the options.
Longman Language Activatorto change all the time or often
especially spoken · His ideas about what he wants keep changing.· I'll check the regulations for you - they keep changing.· The police strongly suspected that she had been involved - her story kept changing and was filled with inconsistencies.
to change often if something varies , it changes according to what the situation is: · Ticket prices to New York vary, depending on the time of year.vary from....to: · Driving regulations vary from state to state.vary considerably/enormously/greatly (=change a lot): · Her income varies considerably from one month to the next.vary in price/quality/size etc: · Vegetables vary in quality according to the season.it varies: · "How much milk do you use a day?" "Oh, it varies."vary from day to day/week to week etc: · It hadn't been established where we'd all sleep - the location seemed to vary from night to night.
if something such as a price or amount fluctuates , it changes very often from a high level to a low one and back again: · The car industry's annual production fluctuates between 5.1 million and 9.2 million vehicles.· Cholesterol levels in the blood fluctuate in the course of a day.fluctuate wildly: · Share prices on the New York Stock Exchange often fluctuate wildly.
if something such as a system or a set of ideas is in flux or in a state of flux , it is changing a lot all the time, especially in a confusing way, so that you do not know what it will finally be like: · The computer industry is in constant flux, responding all the time to changes in technology.· Our education programme is in a state of flux, as new approaches are being developed.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Insect populations fluctuate wildly from year to year.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
Insect populations fluctuate wildly from year to year. (=keep going up and down)· Gas prices have continued to fluctuate in recent months.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· Income: Liable to fluctuate wildly.· By this time Snyder was lapsing in and out of consciousness and his body temperature was fluctuating wildly.· The play fluctuated wildly throughout the three days of the event.· The dam trapped sediments, and water releases fluctuated wildly, depending on hydroelectric-power needs.· I was tall and slim but I had an eating disorder and my weight fluctuated wildly according to how I ate.· The price of bread cereals, on which labouring families spent a vast proportion of their wages, fluctuated wildly.· Lily had experienced pain there and her temperature fluctuated wildly.
NOUN· When prices are fluctuating, general confusion prevails regarding the behaviour of relative prices.· Bonds with greater duration experience greater price movements as yields fluctuate.· But the price of diamonds can fluctuate, like property.
· The mortgage rates may fluctuate, but the administration and the repayments remain the same until the time comes to adjust.· As in all cities, the infant death rate in Washington fluctuates from year to year.· This policy necessarily involves the interest rate fluctuating with the demand for money.· Since interest rates fluctuate from day to day, the prices of seasoned bonds also fluctuate.· The pounds you pay will buy ECUs at the current exchange rate, which can fluctuate.· Investors holding ninety-day Treasury bills experience very small changes in the value of those bills as interest rates fluctuate.· The highest marginal rate of tax has fluctuated since 1969 between 34.13% and 20%.· After it enters the contract, the value changes as rates fluctuate.
· Bittern numbers fluctuate from year to year and a severe winter hits them hard.· As in all cities, the infant death rate in Washington fluctuates from year to year.· Spokespeople will not confirm this, but point out that numbers do fluctuate from year to year.· Seven races made up the first championship and that number has fluctuated over the years.
WORD FAMILYnounfluctuationverbfluctuate
if a price or amount fluctuates, it keeps changing and becoming higher and lower SYN varyfluctuate between Prices were volatile, fluctuating between $20 and $40.fluctuate around The number of children in the school fluctuates around 100. Insect populations fluctuate wildly from year to year.