whipsaw

1 of 2

noun

whip·saw ˈ(h)wip-ˌsȯ

: a narrow pit saw averaging 5 to 7¹/₂ feet (1.5 to 2.3 meters) in length

whipsaw

2 of 2

verb

whipsawed; whipsawing; whipsaws

transitive verb

: to saw with a whipsaw

: to beset or victimize in two opposite ways at once, by a two-phase operation, or by the collusive action of two opponents

wage earners were whipsawed by inflation and high taxes

Did you know?

A whipsaw is a type of hand-powered saw worked by two people, one of whom stands on or above the log being sawed and the other below it, usually in a pit. The tool dates back to the 15th century, but it was not until the 19th century that anyone thought to use the saw's name figuratively to describe situations in which someone or something is doubly "cut," or hurt. Today, the word is commonly used when discussing financial crises or losses as well as ideological changes (as in government policy) that might "cut."

Examples of whipsaw in a Sentence

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Noun

Tariffs and whipsaw trade policy Trump has issued a flurry of tariff orders and nearly as many retreats from those orders. —Tobias Burns, The Hill, 13 Mar. 2025 The worry is that the whipsaw moves will either hurt the economy directly or create enough uncertainty to drive U.S. companies and consumers into an economy-freezing paralysis. —arkansasonline.com, 11 Mar. 2025

Verb

Markets whipsawed on Tuesday, as investors puzzled through President Trump’s commitment to tariffs, with stocks dropping in early trading before recovering late in the day. —Joe Rennison, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2025 Trump’s unconventional approach to trade and international diplomacy has left markets unimpressed, with U.S. indexes whipsawing, while strategists warned that negative market sentiment was bound to continue in the Trump 2.0 era. —Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 10 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for whipsaw