boom-and-bust

noun

: an alternation of prosperity and depression

specifically : alternate periods of high and low levels of economic activity in the business cycle

we're in for the biggest boom-and-bust … that we've ever seen

—Hal Borland

boom-and-bust adjective

… diversifying a local economy to make it less subject to boom-and-bust whiplash.

—Douglas H. Chadwick, Audubon, November/December 1995

Word History

Etymology

boom entry 4

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