roller coaster

or roll·er·coast·er (rōl′ər-kō′stər)

1. A steep, sharply curving elevated railway with small open passenger cars that is operated at high speeds as a ride, especially in an amusement park.

2. An action, event, or experience marked by abrupt, extreme changes in circumstance, quality, or behavior: "the demographic roller coaster caused by the baby boom" (American Demographics).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

roll′er coast`er

1. a small railroad, esp. in an amusement park, having a train with open cars that moves along a high, sharply winding trestle built with steep inclines.

2. any phenomenon, period, or experience characterized by violent ups and downs or fluctuations.

[1885–90]

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	roller coaster - anything characterized by abrupt and extreme changes (especially up and down); "the economy has been on a roller coaster all year" Sturm und Drang, upheaval, turbulence - a state of violent disturbance and disorder (as in politics or social conditions generally); "the industrial revolution was a period of great turbulence"
	2.	roller coaster - elevated railway in an amusement park (usually with sharp curves and steep inclines) chute-the-chute, big dipper elevated, elevated railroad, elevated railway, overhead railway, el - a railway that is powered by electricity and that runs on a track that is raised above the street level hypercoaster - a roller coaster that goes up 200 feet or higher and can catapult riders from 0 to 70 mph in 4 seconds by motors originally designed to launch rockets ride - a mechanical device that you ride for amusement or excitement

Translations

Achterbahn

montagne russe otto volante

roller coaster

n → montagne fpl russe

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in periodicals archive

As a class, brainstorm how you could use the materials from the hands-on activity to build your own roller coaster. How high would your first hill have to be to build a track with two hills'?

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Americans didn't invent the roller coaster. That honor goes to the Russians who slid down steep wooden slides covered with ice in the 1780s.

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After 20 years of the Corkscrew and 75 with the Yankee Cannonball, Canobie lake Park in Salem was ready for a new boost of roller coaster adrenaline.

You're my thrill: Canobie Lake Park unveils New Roller Coaster

A man in his 30s died after falling off a roller coaster in motion at an amusement park in central Tokyo on Sunday, police and rescuers said.

Man dies after falling off Tokyo roller coaster

The roller coaster risk came to l ight af ter a 24-year-old man developed pain a day after a ride.

ROLLEAR COASTER; Thrill ride deafness risk

Logan - S&S WORLDWIDE, INC., the Logan company that first set the Guinness World Record for launched coaster speed of more than 100 miles per hour in 2001, has applied its patented pneumatic launch system to a new 135 miles per hour roller coaster design for the Nurburgring Race Track in Germany.

S&S Worldwide, Inc

The third edition of this guide to roller coasters has been updated with new photographs, statistics and descriptions as well as an essay on the future of roller coaster technology and design.

Roller coasters; United States and Canada, 3d ed

She had told the boys back home she was going to ride the roller coaster. They had never seen a roller coaster before.

Who's your hero?

Let's look at the forces that drive a roller coaster ride.

Roller coasters

With your hands gripping tight, as soon as a roller coaster projects you forward even the most reserved of riders can't help but belt out a chilling scream - even though your "heart is in your mouth" and your stomach feels like it's 20 feet above your head.

ROLLER COASTER OF A RIDE

The ministry also said cracks have been found in axles of eight more high-speed roller coasters in seven amusement parks as a result of an emergency survey, which was carried out following a fatal roller coaster derailment accident at the Expoland amusement park in Osaka Prefecture in May.

Flaws found in 59 roller coasters, similar rides in amusement parks