OSCILLATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does oscillation mean? 

• OSCILLATION (noun)
  The noun OSCILLATION has 3 senses:

1. the process of oscillating between states

2. (physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean

3. a single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon

  Familiarity information: OSCILLATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• OSCILLATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The process of oscillating between states

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural processes

Hypernyms ("oscillation" is a kind of...):

action; activity; natural action; natural process (a process existing in or produced by nature (rather than by the intent of human beings))

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oscillation"):

libration ((astronomy) a real or apparent slow oscillation of a moon or satellite)

Derivation:

oscillate (be undecided about something; waver between conflicting positions or courses of action)

Sense 2

Meaning:

(physics) a regular periodic variation in value about a mean

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

oscillation; vibration

Hypernyms ("oscillation" is a kind of...):

undulation; wave ((physics) a movement up and down or back and forth)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oscillation"):

ripple ((electronics) an oscillation of small amplitude imposed on top of a steady value)

transient ((physics) a short-lived oscillation in a system caused by a sudden change of voltage or current or load)

beat (a single pulsation of an oscillation produced by adding two waves of different frequencies; has a frequency equal to the difference between the two oscillations)

resonance (a vibration of large amplitude produced by a relatively small vibration near the same frequency of vibration as the natural frequency of the resonating system)

sympathetic vibration ((physics) vibration produced by resonance)

Derivation:

oscillate (move or swing from side to side regularly)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A single complete execution of a periodically repeated phenomenon

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

cycle; oscillation

Context example:

a year constitutes a cycle of the seasons

Hypernyms ("oscillation" is a kind of...):

periodic event; recurrent event (an event that recurs at intervals)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "oscillation"):

cardiac cycle (the complete cycle of events in the heart from the beginning of one heart beat to the beginning of the next; an electrical impulse conducted through the heart muscle that constricts the atria which is followed by constriction of the ventricles)

Carnot's ideal cycle; Carnot cycle (a cycle (of expansion and compression) of an idealized reversible heat engine that does work without loss of heat)

pass (one complete cycle of operations (as by a computer))

menstrual cycle (a recurring cycle (beginning at menarche and ending at menopause) in which the endometrial lining of the uterus prepares for pregnancy; if pregnancy does not occur the lining is shed at menstruation)

Derivation:

oscillate (move or swing from side to side regularly)

 Context examples 

The plasma wave instrument can detect oscillations of the plasma electrons.

(Sun sends more 'tsunami waves' to Voyager 1, NASA)

The bubble then drives oscillations of the water surface at the bottom of the cavity, acting like a piston driving sound waves into the air.

(What causes the sound of a dripping tap – and how do you stop it?, University of Cambridge)

These clock proteins generate the 24-hour oscillations in biological processes.

(Plants can tell time even without a brain, University of Cambridge)

A SI derived unit of frequency; equal to one oscillation (one cycle) per second.

(Hertz, NCI Thesaurus)

Oscillation upon the pavement always means an affaire de cœur.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

By studying the infrared oscillations, the team is gathering first-of-its-kind data on the detailed process and outcome of collisions that create rocky planets like Earth.

(Spitzer Telescope Witnesses Asteroid Smashup, NASA)

He put a few spokes over, and I watched the compass-card swing slowly to N.N.W. and steady itself with slight oscillations.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Climate oscillations averaging a few thousand years in duration that dominate Greenland ice-core records.

(Dansgaard-Oeschger cycles, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)

Planetary astronomers hope to better understand how dark vortices originate, what controls their drifts and oscillations, how they interact with the environment, and how they eventually dissipate.

(Hubble Imagery Confirms New Dark Spot on Neptune, NASA)

Pendular nystagmus features oscillations that are of equal velocity in both directions and this condition is often associated with visual loss early in life.

(Nystagmus, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)