whipsaw
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
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to cut with a whipsaw.
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to win two bets from (a person) at one turn or play, as at faro.
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to subject to two opposing forces at the same time.
The real-estate market has been whipsawed by high interest rates and unemployment.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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to saw with a whipsaw
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to defeat in two ways at once
Etymology
Origin of whipsaw
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Fears and uncertainty about the impact artificial intelligence will have on the U.S. economy, workforce, and stocks have caused markets to whipsaw and continue to confuse investors.
From Barron's
An F/A-18 that was being pulled into position was whipsawed by the maneuver and “departed the hangar bay,” the Navy’s incident report said.
Investors have continued to rotate money into international equities, with European and emerging-market funds drawing steady inflows even as U.S. tech whipsaws.
Putting aside the whipsaw effect of recent tariff moves, the biggest problem plaguing the market in recent weeks is artificial intelligence.
From Barron's
Average households worried about global instability have flocked to buy precious metals—only to be whipsawed by recent price swings.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
