low tide
Americannoun
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the tide at the point of maximum ebb.
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the time of low water.
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the lowest point of decline of anything.
His spirits were at low tide.
noun
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the tide when it is at its lowest level or the time at which it reaches this
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a lowest point
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The tide at its lowest level at a particular time and place. The lowest tides reached under normal meteorological conditions (the spring tides) take place when the Moon and Sun are directly aligned with respect to Earth. Low tides are less extreme when the Moon and Sun are at right angles (the neap tides). Storms and other meteorological conditions can greatly affect the height of the tides as well.
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See more at tide
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The time at which a low tide occurs.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of low tide
First recorded in 1860–65
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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.
"However, the same cannot be said for intertidal systems" such as salt marshes and mudflats that line the coast and are exposed at low tide, he added.
From Barron's ● Mar. 17, 2026
When it was built on the Ile de Sein at Brittany's western tip, the wall would have been on the shore-line – between the high and low tide marks.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
The study is intended to help researchers understand how the manmade breakwater that was built in the 1930s in Santa Monica Bay, often visible during low tide, might hurt water circulation and, therefore, water quality.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2025
For some reason—the police cited low tide; Mafart claimed the problem was fishermen at the pickup spot—Dillais motored past Teal Park heading east.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
The cub had managed to swim across the channel in low tide, but a surge of high water could reach the cave and drown her.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
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.
