ebb

[eb]

noun

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

2. a flowing backward or away; decline or decay.

   the ebb of a once great nation.

3. a point of decline.

   His fortunes were at a low ebb.

verb (used without object)

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

   Synonyms: retire, recede, abate, subside

2. to decline or decay; fade away.

   His life is gradually ebbing.

   Synonyms: decrease, diminish, dwindle

ebb

/ ɛb /

verb

1. (of tide water) to flow back or recede Compare flow

2. to fall away or decline

noun

1. 1. the flowing back of the tide from high to low water or the period in which this takes place

   2. ( as modifier ) Compare flood

      the ebb tide

2. in a state or period of weakness, lack of vigour, or decline

Other Word Forms

• unebbed adjective
• unebbing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ebb¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ebb¹

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

Idioms and Phrases

• at a low ebb

Example Sentences

Hiring had moderated, wage gains were uneven, and the postpandemic excess demand for workers was ebbing.

Read more on Barron's

The number of Mexican residents, both authorized and unauthorized, reached a high of nearly 13 million in 2007 before ebbing due to an improved economy in Mexico, a recession in America and enhanced border security.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Leafy speaks for all of the author’s blundering characters when, at one low ebb, he sums himself up as “an aristocrat of pain and frustration, a prince of anguish and embarrassment.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The trade war has ebbed, proving to be less of an obstacle to the economy than feared.

Read more on Barron's

It ebbs and flows within a certain range, and we’re sitting in that range.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• abate 
• degenerate 
• deteriorate 
• die down 
• die out 
• diminish 
• dwindle 
• ease off 
• fall away 
• fall back 
• lessen 
• melt 
• peter out 
• recede 
• shrink 
• slacken 
• wane 
• weaken