# seesaw

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈsiː.sɔː/ · frequency rank #55,091

## Definitions
1. A structure composed of a plank, balanced in the middle, used as a game in which one person goes up as the other goes down.
2. A series of up-and-down movements.
3. A series of alternating movements or feelings.
4. An abnormal breathing pattern caused by airway obstruction, characterized by paradoxical chest and abdominal movement.
5. A tactic in which a piece repeatedly gains material, while simultaneously creating an inescapable series of alternating direct and discovered checks.

## Etymology
Probably a frequentative imitative of rhythmic back-and-forth, up-and-down or zigzagging motion, such as teeter-totter, zigzag, flip-flop, ping pong, etc., under the umbrella term of reduplication; also likely influenced by the verbs see and saw of either present or past tense.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/seesaw