ebb
Americannoun
verb
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(of tide water) to flow back or recede Compare flow
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to fall away or decline
noun
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the flowing back of the tide from high to low water or the period in which this takes place
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( as modifier ) Compare flood
the ebb tide
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in a state or period of weakness, lack of vigour, or decline
Other Word Forms
- unebbed adjective
- unebbing adjective
Etymology
Origin of ebb
before 1000; (noun) Middle English eb ( be ), Old English ebba; cognate with Old Frisian ebba, Dutch eb ( be ), German Ebbe ebb, Old Norse efja place where water backs up; (v.) Middle English ebben, Old English ebbian, derivative of the noun; akin to off
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This doesn't mean you should question the natural ebb and flow of a long term relationship.
From BBC
“My father lived through the last war. He says that this is the nature of wars: they ebb and they flow, like the tide.”
From Literature
At the same time, he acknowledged that the decline was likely also the result of other factors that govern the ebb and flow of crime.
From Los Angeles Times
Most of my anger and embarrassment from earlier have ebbed away and made room instead for curiosity.
From Literature
The actual figures will ebb and flow with changes in monthly expenses, inflation, your investment returns and, of course, taxes.
From MarketWatch
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
