seesawed

verb

past tense of seesaw
1
as in lurched
to make a series of unsteady side-to-side motions as their boat seesawed in the rough water, the rescue team tried to get the passengers off the sinking ship

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in bobbed
to make short up-and-down movements the price of the stock has been seesawing all week

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of seesawed Oil prices and global stocks seesawed Monday as fighting in Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz closed, sending Brent crude above $112 a barrel before retreating on signs that a wider military strike might pause. — Stan Choe, Los Angeles Times, 18 May 2026 Gas prices have seesawed in recent days, following news of a fragile ceasefire on April 8. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 28 Apr. 2026 Meanwhile, oil prices seesawed during the early part of Monday's trading session. — Leonie Kidd, CNBC, 23 Mar. 2026 Oil prices seesawed overnight on fears that Iran will attack ships in the Strait of Hormuz, even after an agreement Wednesday among nations to release a significant amount of petroleum reserves. — The Hill Staff, The Hill, 12 Mar. 2026 In Miramar, Florida, Philip Myers, a Marine veteran, relied solely on his FreeStyle Libre, until the readings seesawed from the 50s to over 200 one evening in June. — Elizabeth Chuck, NBC news, 11 Mar. 2026 The way outflow mechanisms seesawed for this black hole suggests a natural mechanism of self-regulation, and that jets and winds compete for the same matter. — Robert Lea, Space.com, 14 Jan. 2026 But the policy soon seesawed again. — Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026 The attorney general's power has seesawed in recent years. — Molly Beck, jsonline.com, 21 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for seesawed
  1. lurched
  2. bobbed
  3. swayed
  4. pumped
  5. rocked
  6. shook
  7. jerked
Verb
  • Adams’ shoulders lurched on the bench, while Richards fell to his knees, dug his afro into the grass, and closed his eyes in pain.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 7 July 2026
  • Initial data indicates both of these earthquakes were strike-slip, Magnani said, meaning one plate lurched past the other along the boundary.
    — Evan Bush, NBC news, 25 June 2026
Definition of lurched
Verb
  • Wooden boats bobbed in long rows, their names and registration numbers hand-painted on the hulls, as men in neon vests unloaded catch and frigate birds swooped down to pick at the scraps.
    — Will Freeman, New Yorker, 30 June 2026
  • The enthusiasm was apparent as the catamaran bobbed around the future site of Pier Wind, which recently received a $20-million grant from the California Energy Commission.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2026
Definition of bobbed
Verb
  • Blue paper lanterns swayed in the wind, and people wore traditional Japanese garments to complete the atmosphere.
    — Meredith Nierman, NPR, 17 July 2026
  • But weddings also bring out the cynics, and there are a lot of people who cannot be swayed by a wedding.
    — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 16 July 2026
Definition of swayed
Verb
  • The rest of the fields rely on water pumped from underground, and that’s also getting squeezed as California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act kicks in.
    — Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026
  • At the hospital, the doctor pumped Isul’s stomach and gave her fluids.
    — Min Jin Lee, New Yorker, 19 July 2026
Definition of pumped
Verb
  • That said, the latest cuts are not expected to be as sweeping as those that rocked the company in 2023, when dozens of employees—including 20 on-air hosts and analysts (Suzy Kolber, Jeff Van Gundy, Jalen Rose, et al)—were let go.
    — Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 21 July 2026
  • While the rapper sported an Argentina jacket to show his support for the country’s national team during the final game that same day, Stormi rocked a Spain jersey.
    — Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 21 July 2026
Definition of rocked
Verb
  • Each blast was louder than the one before, and the walls of the house shook violently.
    — Laura Kiniry, Popular Science, 16 July 2026
  • Last October, a roaring blast and fire at Chevron’s El Segundo plant stayed within the refinery footprint but the noise shook the neighborhood and turned the sky sunset-orange, then smoky.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 July 2026
Definition of shook
Verb
  • Once the squid gather near the surface, lines fitted with bait are lowered into the water and rapidly jerked up and down to imitate small prey such as shrimp, triggering strikes before the catch is reeled aboard.
    — Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 20 June 2026
  • Suddenly, the tent jerked and wobbled.
    — Dolores Brown, Outdoor Life, 17 June 2026
Definition of jerked

Browse Nearby Words

seesaw
seesawed
seesawing
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Cite this Entry

“Seesawed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/seesawed. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of seesawed for Spanish Speakers

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