ebb and flow

Idioms  

1. A decline and increase, constant fluctuations. For example, He was fascinated by the ebb and flow of the Church's influence over the centuries. This expression alludes to the inward and outward movement of ocean tides. [Late 1500s]

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Example Sentences

With eyebrows furrowed, she leaned into the decks, spinning an operatic techno mashup from the turntables and orchestrating the ebb and flow of fans’ bodies.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 21, 2026

There are signs this is more than the normal ebb and flow of executive reshuffling.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Research suggests that pills which flatten the natural ebb and flow of fertility can dampen shifts in attraction that typically occur across the menstrual cycle, potentially altering initial mate choice.

From BBC • Feb. 12, 2026

The actual figures will ebb and flow with changes in monthly expenses, inflation, your investment returns and, of course, taxes.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 22, 2026

Ever attuned to the ebb and flow of research funding, he recognized that the government stood to become as generous a financial backer as the medical foundations he had mined to build the sixty-inch.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• oscillate
• seesaw
• vary
• veer
• waver