verb (used without object), os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing.
- to swing or move to and fro, as a pendulum does.
- to vary or vacillate between differing beliefs, opinions, conditions, etc.: He oscillates regularly between elation and despair.
- Physics. to have, produce, or generate oscillations.
- Mathematics. (of a function, sequence, etc.) to tend to no limit, including infinity: The sequence 0, 1, 0, 1, … oscillates.
verb (used with object), os·cil·lat·ed, os·cil·lat·ing.
- to cause to move to and fro; vibrate.
verb
- (intr) to move or swing from side to side regularly
- (intr) to waver between opinions, courses of action, etc
- physics to undergo or produce or cause to undergo or produce oscillation
v.1726, back-formation from oscillation, or else from Latin oscillatus, past participle of oscillare (see oscillation). From 1917 in electronics. Related: Oscillated; oscillating. v.
- To swing back and forth with a steady, uninterrupted rhythm.
- To vary between alternate extremes, usually within a definable period of time.