pendulum

CEFRC1

/ˈpɛnd͡ʒʊləm/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A weight hanging from a fixed point that swings back and forth.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A lamp, etc. suspended from a ceiling.

Examples

  • He reached into the case and stopped the pendulum.

  • The pendulum swung back and forth.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Also pronounced

  • /ˈpɛnd(j)ələm/
  • /ˈpɛndjʊləm/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. A body suspended from a fixed support so that it swings freely back and forth under the influence of gravity, commonly used to regulate various devices such as clocks.

  2. The tendency of a situation to oscillate (between two extremes).

  3. A watch's guard-ring by which it is attached to a chain.

More examples

In context

  • The pendulum can be seen to be swinging in favour of rail, as with each issue of RAIL comes news of further intermodal service expansion.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The old clock's blank swung back and forth to measure the passing seconds.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

Borrowed from the neuter of Latin pendulus (“hanging”).