ebb

[eb]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ebb ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the flowing back of the tide as the water returns to the sea (opposed to flood, flow).

a flowing backward or away; decline or decay: the ebb of a once great nation.

a point of decline: His fortunes were at a low ebb.

verb (used without object)

to flow back or away, as the water of a tide (opposed to flow).

to decline or decay; fade away: His life is gradually ebbing.

Nearby words

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

SYNONYMS FOR ebb

4. subside, abate, recede, retire. 5. dwindle, diminish, decrease.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ebb ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsun·ebbed, adjectiveun·ebb·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ebb

Ebb and flow, checks and balances, the center would hold, et cetera.
A Veteran’s View: NYC Cold War Between Cops and City Hall|Matt Gallagher|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Analyzing the ebb and flow of the race, Howie said Weiland has positive momentum but Rounds is collapsing.
South Dakota's Bizarre Four-Way (Senate Election, That Is)|Ben Jacobs|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps this accounts for the ebb and flow of her popularity.
The Fiction Writer Shirley Jackson Stars in Her Own Novel|Hugh Ryan|June 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Shrier noted that undergarment trends tend to “ebb and flow.”
Kate Middleton’s “Bottomgate” Shows Why Women Still Need Slips|Keli Goff|May 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Treat mental health disorders and seemingly random violence will ebb too, the theory goes.
Massacres and Madness|Linda Teplin|December 14, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Yet when the ebb came, and men began to count their losses, there were but few to record.
Uppingham by the Sea|John Henry Skrine
On account of the ebb tide and consequent lay of the corks, we worked back, in reverse order, eastwards.
A Poor Man's House|Stephen Sydney Reynolds
One little defect in this otherwise so beautiful landscape is caused by the ebb and flow.
Tour in England, Ireland, and France, in the years 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829.|Hermann Pckler-Muskau
After the flood of inspiration comes its ebb; the valley of despond, after the heights of Alpine splendor.
Studies in the Out-Lying Fields of Psychic Science|Hudson Tuttle
The plot is a complex one; it has an ebb and flow, a complication and a resolution, to use technical terms.
How to Write a Novel|Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for ebb

ebb

verb (intr)

(of tide water) to flow back or recedeCompare flow (def. 9)

to fall away or decline

noun

the flowing back of the tide from high to low water or the period in which this takes place
(as modifier)the ebb tide Compare flood (def. 3)

at a low ebb in a state or period of weakness, lack of vigour, or decline

Word Origin for ebb

Old English ebba; related to Old Norse efja river bend, Gothic ibuks moving backwards, Old High German ippihōn to roll backwards, Middle Dutch ebbe ebb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ebb

ebb

Old English ebba "ebb, low tide," perhaps from Proto-Germanic *abjon (cf. Old Frisian ebba, Old Saxon ebbiunga, Middle Dutch ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe), from *ab-, from PIE root *apo- "off, away" (see apo-). Figurative sense of "decline, decay" is c.1400.

ebb

Old English ebbian, from the root of ebb (n.). Related: Ebbed; ebbing.

Idioms and Phrases with ebb

ebb

In addition to the idioms beginning with ebb

ebb and flow

also see:

at a low ebb

ebb

noun

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of ebb

Examples from the Web for ebb

ebb

verb (intr)

noun

Word Origin for ebb

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