cycle
noun [ C ]
uk/ˈsaɪkl/ usa group of events that happen in a particular order, one following the other, and often repeated:
Interest rates tend to move in cycles.
Spending quickly becomes a vicious cycle - the more you have the more you spend.
ECONOMICS
a pattern of successful periods followed by less successful periods that often happens in an industry, a market, a business, etc.:
Normally, the business has cycles, and every 10 years it peaks.
If you sell goods in a seasonal industry, then cycles of consumer demand are an important dimension of your environment.
boom-and-bust/market cycles Security prices tend to move up and down over various market cycles and logic says to invest when prices are low.
The company's markets had passed the bottom of the cycle and were slowly growing again.
ECONOMICS
a single successful period, period of failure, etc. that is part of a regular series:
a boom/down cycle The country is still in a boom cycle.
The market is still in its growth cycle.
a cycle of debt/poverty The Credit Union tries to wean borrowers off the cycle of debt by offering financial counseling and payment plans.
a regular period of time during which an activity, job, etc. is done:
a two-year/3-month/annual, etc. cycle
a budget/planning/sales cycle
product/product-development cycles They work to shorten product-development cycles and to boost manufacturing productivity.
See also
the accounting cycle
billing cycle
business cycle
family life cycle
job cycle
Kondratieff cycle
life cycle