Meaning & use
rollercoaster
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Meanings
nouncountable
A fairground ride with a track that rises and falls steeply and fast, carrying passengers in small cars.
Grammar: Countable: one rollercoaster, two rollercoasters; often used with 'ride' or 'go on'.
Patterns
- go on a rollercoaster
- ride a rollercoaster
- a rollercoaster ride
The kids begged to go on the rollercoaster again.
She screamed the whole way around the rollercoaster.
We waited an hour in line for the biggest rollercoaster in the park.
nounsingularfigurative
A situation or period full of sudden changes in mood, fortune, or feeling.
Grammar: Usually singular and often followed by 'of': a rollercoaster of emotions.
Patterns
- a rollercoaster of emotions
- an emotional rollercoaster
- a rollercoaster year
The last few months have been an emotional rollercoaster for the whole team.
His first year in business was a rollercoaster of successes and failures.
The film takes you on a rollercoaster of feelings from joy to grief.
adjectivebefore a nounfigurative
Full of sudden ups and downs; changing quickly and unpredictably.
Grammar: Used before a noun, as in 'a rollercoaster season'; not usually used after 'be'.
Patterns
- a rollercoaster ride
- a rollercoaster season
- a rollercoaster career
It has been a rollercoaster season for the club.
She described her rollercoaster career in a short interview.
After a rollercoaster week, prices finally settled.
Word forms
| plural | rollercoasters |
|---|
Common combinations
- go on a rollercoaster
- My little brother is finally tall enough to go on a rollercoaster.
- an emotional rollercoaster
- Caring for a sick parent is an emotional rollercoaster.
- a rollercoaster ride
- Investing in new companies can be a rollercoaster ride.
- rollercoaster of emotions
- The graduation day was a rollercoaster of emotions.
- rollercoaster season
- After a rollercoaster season, the team just missed the playoffs.
Synonyms and how they differ
- ride
- A more general word for any fairground attraction; use 'ride' when you do not mean the fast track with steep drops.
- switchback
- Mostly American and often about roads or railways that zigzag; it does not usually mean a fairground ride.
Word family
- coaster noun
- A small mat for a glass, or a ship sailing along a coast; not the same as the ride.
Commonly confused: rollercoaster or coaster? rollercoaster or roller skate?
rollercoaster vs coaster
A 'coaster' is a small mat under a drink; a 'rollercoaster' is the fairground ride or a wildly changing situation.
rollercoaster vs roller skate
A 'roller skate' is a boot with wheels worn on the feet; a 'rollercoaster' is a track ride, so the two are quite different.
Practice
The past year has been a real ______ of emotions for the family.
Choose one answer.
'Rollercoaster of emotions' is the fixed figurative phrase for rapidly changing feelings. 'Coaster' is a drink mat, 'roller skate' is footwear, and 'ride' alone does not form this idiom.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rollercoaster”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.