verb (used without object),fluc·tu·at·ed,fluc·tu·at·ing.
to change continually; shift back and forth; vary irregularly: The price of gold fluctuated wildly last month.
to move back and forth in waves.
verb (used with object),fluc·tu·at·ed,fluc·tu·at·ing.
to cause to fluctuate.
Origin of fluctuate
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin fluctuātus “undulated,” past participle of fluctuāre “to flow,” equivalent to fluctu(s) “a flowing” (derivative of fluere “to flow”) + -ātus-ate1
Smith, the Turning Point field director, said, “The number fluctuates and many have gone back to school.”
Pro-Trump youth group enlists teens in secretive campaign likened to a ‘troll farm,’ prompting rebuke by Facebook and Twitter|Isaac Stanley-Becker|September 15, 2020|Washington Post
Writing in Ars Technica, John Timmer points out that aligning the coolant channels with all the components in a much more complex chip—whose activity could fluctuate based on the task—would be very tricky.
This Microchip Has Its Own Built-In Cooling System|Edd Gent|September 14, 2020|Singularity Hub
In addition, Enten found that favorable ratings can also fluctuate a lot after this point in the election cycle.
Trump And Biden Both Got Small Convention Bounces. But Only Biden Got More Popular.|Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com)|September 11, 2020|FiveThirtyEight
Cycle length can vary greatly from woman to woman, and even fluctuate from month to month.
Everything You Need to Know About Period Tracking|Christine Yu|September 6, 2020|Outside Online
Venture investors last valued the company in 2015 at $20 billion, with the value fluctuating since then on the secondary markets.
Prominent Silicon Valley tech company departs for Denver|Verne Kopytoff|August 19, 2020|Fortune
Student newspapers tend to fluctuate between male and female editorships.
Why Women Trail Men on Campus|Rebecca Davis O'Brien|March 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST
The fortunes of war may fluctuate, the rose may fade; but Congress is ever stable.
The Orpheus C. Kerr Papers. Series 1|Robert H. Newell
Their poor hearts seem to fluctuate between "graves in Egypt" and death in the wilderness.
The Assembly of God|C. (Charles) H. (Henry) Mackintosh
As to fares, we learn from the "Guide" that they fluctuate according to day or night or the number of passengers in a carriage.
The Strand Magazine|Various
It was not an unheard-of thing for the value of such properties to fluctuate.
VC -- A Chronicle of Castle Barfield and of the Crimea|David Christie Murray
Pike are present sometimes in great quantity, but the supply seems to fluctuate considerably.
The Handbook to the Rivers and Broads of Norfolk & Suffolk|G. Christopher Davies
British Dictionary definitions for fluctuate
fluctuate
/ (ˈflʌktjʊˌeɪt) /
verb
to change or cause to change position constantly; be or make unstable; waver or vary
(intr)to rise and fall like a wave; undulate
Word Origin for fluctuate
C17: from Latin fluctuāre, from fluctus a wave, from fluere to flow
seesaw, vary, veer, waver, oscillate, hesitate, shift, alternate, undulate, alter, wave, vibrate, swing, flutter, blow hot and cold, hem and haw, ebb and flow, yo-yo