high tide

American  

noun

1. the tide at its highest level of elevation.

2. the time of high water.

3. a culminating point.

   the high tide of the revolution.

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high tide British  

noun

1. 1. the tide at its highest level

   2. the time at which it reaches this

2. a culminating point

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high tide Scientific  

1. The tide when it is at its highest level at a particular time and place. The highest tides reached under normal meteorological conditions (the spring tides) take place when the Moon and Sun are directly aligned with respect to Earth. High tides are less extreme (the neap tides) when the Moon and Sun are at right angles. Storms and other meteorological conditions can greatly affect the height of the tides as well.

2. See more at tide

3. The time at which a high tide occurs.

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Etymology

Origin of high tide

before 1000; Middle English; Old English

Compare meaning

How does high-tide compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• high tide vs. low tide

Example Sentences

He then struggles to cross the waters between the two islands at high tide.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Mersea is connected to mainland Essex by one road, which floods when there is a particularly high tide.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

As of Wednesday afternoon, Coyote Creek, which flows through the Santa Clara Valley, was seeing some minor flooding due to the high tide tidal surge, according to the weather service.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

Chloe Stacey, of Killay, who found a mass of them on Swansea beach, said: "Thousands is an understatement. They absolutely plagued the high tide line."

From BBC • Oct. 22, 2025

Well after midnight, a magnificent high tide arrives, the largest waves smashing against the bases of the ramparts, the sea green and aerated and networked with seething rafts of moonlit foam.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Related Words

• high water