seesaw
/ˈsi.sɔ/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.47 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A structure composed of a plank, balanced in the middle, used as a game in which one person goes up as the other goes down.
noun
A series of up-and-down movements.
noun
A series of alternating movements or feelings.
noun
An abnormal breathing pattern caused by airway obstruction, characterized by paradoxical chest and abdominal movement.
noun
A tactic in which a piece repeatedly gains material, while simultaneously creating an inescapable series of alternating direct and discovered checks.
Example Sentences
- "Now Jill did laugh And Jack did cry, But his tears did soon abate, Then Jill did say, That they should play, At sea-saw across the gate."
- "He has been arguing in a circle; there is thus a see-saw between the hypothesis and the fact."
- "Manchester Citykept up their unbeaten start to the Premier League season with victory over QPR in an entertaining see-saw encounter at Loftus Road."
- "They sea-saw'd high, They sea-saw'd low, At length they both did tumble, We both are down We both must own, Let neither of us grumble."
- "When I think of your kisses / My mind see-saws"
- "He see-saws himself to and fro."
Etymology
Probably a frequentative imitative of rhythmic back-and-forth, up-and-down or zigzagging motion, such as teeter-totter, zigzag, flip-flop, ping pong, etc., under the umbrella term of reduplication; also likely influenced by the verbs see and saw of either present or past tense.
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈsi.sɔ/
- British English: /ˈsiː.sɔː/
Usage
Inflected Forms
seesaws (plural)
see-saw (alternative)
seesaws (present, singular)
seesawing (participle, present)
seesawed (participle, past)
seesawed (past)
more seesaw (comparative)
most seesaw (superlative)