- a body so suspended from a fixed point as to move to and fro by the action of gravity and acquired momentum.
- a swinging lever, weighted at the lower end, for regulating the speed of a clock mechanism.
- something that tends to move from one position, condition, etc., to the opposite extreme and then back again: In a democratic society, the pendulum of political thought swings left and right.
- a body mounted so that it can swing freely under the influence of gravity. It is either a bob hung on a light thread (simple pendulum) or a more complex structure (compound pendulum)
- such a device used to regulate a clockwork mechanism
- something that changes its position, attitude, etc fairly regularly
