ebb
Americannoun
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ebbs
plural
verb (used without object)
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ebbs,
present (3rd person singular)
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ebbed,
past participle, past
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ebbing
present participle
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ebbsimple
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ebbssimple
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have ebbedperfect
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has ebbedperfect
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am ebbingprogressive
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are ebbingprogressive
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is ebbingprogressive
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have been ebbingperfect progressive
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has been ebbingperfect progressive
Past
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ebbedsimple
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had ebbedperfect
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was ebbingprogressive
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were ebbingprogressive
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had been ebbingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
When something ebbs, it is declining, falling, or flowing away. The best time to look for sea creatures in tidal pools is when the tide is on the ebb — meaning it has receded from the shore. Ebb is often used in the phrase, "ebb and flow," referring to the cyclical changing of the tides from low to high and back to low again. This sense of cyclical change can also be applied to other things. If you want to make money investing, you have to weather the ebb and flow of the stock market.
Vocabulary lists containing ebb
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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.
See Examples For:
Leicester have hit their lowest ebb but are trying to find themselves again.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
Perhaps this existence is more about riding the ebb and flow than it is mapping the course.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
“Your vulnerabilities can ebb and flow. So you want to ask, ‘Where are my vulnerabilities?’” in a given situation.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
Evidence of a connection has remained elusive however, as El Niño is notoriously variable, making it difficult to distinguish long-term changes from its natural ebb and flow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
The anxiety that gripped me those first few days at the 6 is finally beginning to ebb.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Hospitals have adopted software tools to optimize staffing, with nurses more regularly covering shifts on floors where they aren’t usually assigned, to meet patient ebbs and flows.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
“I just think there’s also just ebbs and flows of the season, and what to attribute things to and what not to is just too hard to say,” Gomes said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
“This means higher economic volatility and a more reactive monetary policy environment as inflation ebbs and flows,” they added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Whereas Coltrane brought grace and a gentle texture, Rollins arguably delivered a firmer sense of music's ebbs and flows, crafting jazz in the manner of a classical composer.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
As I explain our situation, his initial agitation mysteriously ebbs.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Feelings of alienation have long ebbed and flowed in the restive province of Alberta.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Feelings of alienation have long ebbed and flowed in Alberta, a traditionally conservative province, home to the world’s fourth-largest proven oil reserves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
And even though levels of leverage in certain corners of the market have ebbed from their peak levels seen shortly before July’s artificial-intelligence swoon, risks remain.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 30, 2026
Sunrisers had a glimmer when Seifert skied Abrar Ahmed on 57 but Crawley dropped a tough chance and the belief ebbed out of the visitors.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Within the hotel chemical odors ebbed and flowed like an atmospheric tide.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
Potential investors now believe that valuation needs to come in closer to $1 trillion, given recent market volatility and ebbing appetite for risk, The Wall Street Journal reported last week.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 10, 2026
There are more than 200 reporters covering the case, and a group of women supporters - ebbing and flowing in size - have been coming to the courthouse over the past few weeks.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Meanwhile, any ebbing of energy and related costs if the Iran war ends would provide an additional boost to margins.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
The most famous story-style intro — it literally begins with, “Here’s a story” — belongs to “The Brady Bunch,” which bridged the 1960s and ’70s, a decade that saw the ebbing of title-sequence stories.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
He had been so wound up in trying to get home, he had not noticed the ebbing of the crisis until now.
From "Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher" by Bruce Coville
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
