touch-and-go
1 of 2noun
ˌtəch-ən(d)-ˈgō 
: an airplane landing followed immediately by application of power and a takeoff and usually executed as one of a series for practice at landings
touch and go
2 of 2adjective
: unpredictable as to outcome : uncertain
it was touch and go there for a while
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web
Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 13 June 2022 Rates dropped as the Fed tried to shore up the economy, and rates stayed low for years as the economic recovery was often touch and go. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 16 Mar. 2022 Its upper deck features a dining area big enough for 24 guests, a lounge area and a touch and go helipad. Tamara Hardingham-gill, CNN, 13 Dec. 2021 At various times, the Hirshhorn show was touch and go. New York Times, 6 Oct. 2021 Then came a dozen days of touch and go in the clinic’s intensive care unit. BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2021 But hiring remains touch and go, and the unemployment rate notched up 0.1 percent to 5.9 percent. NBC News, 30 June 2021 The women gave birth while in medically induced comas, hooked up to ventilators, touch and go. Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2021 Dowdy recalled that the first of those fights was touch and go until the final vote. Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2021 See More
Adjective
The year on Wall Street has been touch and go in 2022. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 13 June 2022 Rates dropped as the Fed tried to shore up the economy, and rates stayed low for years as the economic recovery was often touch and go. Susan Tompor, Detroit Free Press, 16 Mar. 2022 Its upper deck features a dining area big enough for 24 guests, a lounge area and a touch and go helipad. Tamara Hardingham-gill, CNN, 13 Dec. 2021 At various times, the Hirshhorn show was touch and go. New York Times, 6 Oct. 2021 Then came a dozen days of touch and go in the clinic’s intensive care unit. BostonGlobe.com, 1 Oct. 2021 But hiring remains touch and go, and the unemployment rate notched up 0.1 percent to 5.9 percent. NBC News, 30 June 2021 The women gave birth while in medically induced comas, hooked up to ventilators, touch and go. Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2021 Dowdy recalled that the first of those fights was touch and go until the final vote. Sharon Grigsby, Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2021 See More Word History
First Known Use
Noun
1945, in the meaning defined above
Adjective
1800, in the meaning defined above