ebb
Americannoun
-
ebbs
plural
verb (used without object)
-
ebbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ebbed,
past participle, past
-
ebbing
present participle
verb
-
(of tide water) to flow back or recede Compare flow
-
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 ) Compare flood
the ebb tide
-
-
in a state or period of weakness, lack of vigour, or decline
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ebbsimple
-
ebbssimple
-
have ebbedperfect
-
has ebbedperfect
-
am ebbingprogressive
-
are ebbingprogressive
-
is ebbingprogressive
-
have been ebbingperfect progressive
-
has been ebbingperfect progressive
Past
-
ebbedsimple
-
had ebbedperfect
-
was ebbingprogressive
-
were ebbingprogressive
-
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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
List 5
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Seas The Day: Words That Shore Are Beachy
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
As if a healthy Ohtani would ever ebb so dramatically.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
The German men's national team is currently at its lowest ebb in decades, having failed to reach the last 16 at the past three World Cups.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Sierra opened her eyes reluctantly, releasing the soothing ebb and flow of the spirit world.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
Attention surrounding Sunset Cliffs injuries ebbs and flows much like the current, according to Frank Gormlie, a longtime San Diego County resident who tracked incidents more than a decade ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 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
The longer the ceasefire, the more likely that any spike in inflation ebbs away in the coming months.
From BBC ● Apr. 8, 2026
He strokes my face as the pain ebbs.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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
Binance pledged to overhaul its financial-crime controls as part of the plea deal, and the flow of Iranian funds ebbed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Since then, the relationship has ebbed and flowed.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
Over the next two months, the match’s momentum ebbed and flowed, but from the ninth game on, Bobby, scraping his way back, took the lead and held on to it.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
"Ten years ago, I thought student interest was ebbing and I would need to find something else to teach about," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 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
With alcohol consumption ebbing again, the brand is now experimenting with a zero-alcohol citrus cocktail it calls Citrus Sin—in homage to Beam’s Prohibition-informed philosophy that not promoting agriculture and community employment was a sin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 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
Their last strength of mind and body was swiftly ebbing.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
