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
-
-
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:
The problem is with each disappointment, the belief of United being 'a really good team' starts to ebb away.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
Then again, the company’s earnings might be at their low ebb.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
Perhaps this existence is more about riding the ebb and flow than it is mapping the course.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 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
Between this present dark and one day’s ebb, after the wane, before the crescent moon, Odysseus will come.”
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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
Of course, the popularity or otherwise of all parties ebbs and flows over time, and as recently as the 2017 general election Labour and the Conservatives managed 82.4% of the vote between them.
From BBC ● May 3, 2026
But this relief soon ebbs: for someone who’s so smelly, Teeth is hard to track.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
He warned that investors were facing a rare buyers strike as demand for stocks ebbed.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 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
Revenue ebbed 1.7% to $560.9 million, coming in ahead of Wall Street models for $557.1 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
The data shed light on how immigration detention has ebbed and flowed so far in 2026.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 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
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
Any ebbing of drone strikes could be deceptive, with Iran amassing them for another swarming assault.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 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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