seesaw

seesaw
/see"saw'/, n.
1. a recreation in which two children alternately ride up and down while seated at opposite ends of a plank balanced at the middle.
2. a plank or apparatus for this recreation.
3. an up-and-down or a back-and-forth movement or procedure.
4. Whist. a crossruff.
adj.
5. moving up and down, back and forth, or alternately ahead and behind: It was a seesaw game with the lead changing hands many times.
v.i.
6. to move in a seesaw manner: The boat seesawed in the heavy sea.
7. to ride or play on a seesaw.
8. to keep changing one's decision, opinion, or attitude; vacillate.
v.t.
9. to cause to move in a seesaw manner.
[1630-40 as part of a jingle accompanying a children's game; gradational compound based on SAW1]
Regional Variation. Although SEESAW (def. 2) is the most widely used term in the U.S., TEETERTOTTER is also in wide use in the Northern, North Midland, and Western regions. TILTING BOARD and its variants TILT BOARD and TILTERING BOARD are New Eng. terms, esp. Eastern New Eng., while TINTER and its variant TEENTER are associated with Western New Eng.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Seesaw — See saw , n. [Probably a reduplication of saw, to express the alternate motion to and fro, as in the act of sawing.] 1. A play among children in which they are seated upon the opposite ends of a plank which is balanced in the middle, and move… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Seesaw — See saw , v. t. To cause to move backward and forward in seesaw fashion. [1913 Webster] He seesaws himself to and fro. Ld. Lytton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • seesaw — [sē′sô΄] n. [redupl. of SAW1: from the action of sawing] 1. a plank balanced on a support at the middle, used by children at play, who ride the ends so that when one goes up, the other comes down 2. the act of riding a plank in this way 3. any up …   English World dictionary

  • Seesaw — See saw , v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Seesawad}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Seesawing}.] To move with a reciprocating motion; to move backward and forward, or upward and downward. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Seesaw — See saw , a. Moving up and down, or to and fro; having a reciprocating motion. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • seesaw — index beat (pulsate), oscillate, vacillate Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • seesaw — 1630s, in see saw sacke a downe, words in a rhythmic jingle used by children and repetitive motion workers, probably imitative of the rhythmic back and forth motion of sawyers working a two man saw over wood or stone (see SAW (Cf. saw)).… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Seesaw — A seesaw (also known as a teeter totter) is a long, narrow board suspended in the middle so that, as one end goes up, the other goes down.In a playground setting, the board is balanced in the exact center. A person sits on each end and they take… …   Wikipedia

  • seesaw — [[t]si͟ːsɔː[/t]] seesaws, seesawing, seesawed also see saw 1) N COUNT A seesaw is a long board which is balanced on a fixed part in the middle. To play on it, a child sits on each end, and when one end goes up, the other goes down. There was a… …   English dictionary

  • seesaw n — Mr. See owned a saw. And Mr. Soar owned a seesaw. Now, See s saw sawed Soar s seesaw Before Soar saw See, Which made Soar sore. Had Soar seen See s saw Before See sawed Soar s seesaw, See s saw would not have sawed Soar s seesaw. So See s saw… …   English expressions

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