neap

¹ American  

[neep] / nip /

adjective

1. designating tides midway between spring tides that attain the least height.

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noun

1. neap tide.

neap ² American  

[neep] / nip /

noun

New England.

1. the pole or tongue of a cart, wagon, etc., drawn by two animals side by side.

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neap British  

/ niːp /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or constituting a neap tide

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noun

1. short for neap tide

Etymology

Origin of neap¹

before 900; Middle English neep, Old English nēp-, in nēpflōd neap tide

Origin of neap²

1545–55 origin uncertain

Example Sentences

The smallest tides, called neap tides, occur when the Sun is at a 90º angle to the Earth-Moon alignment.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

There was a neap tide, and the current was near slack.

From Time Magazine Archive

Last week's was not only ebb but neap tide.

From Time Magazine Archive

It therefore frequently happened that during neap tides there was not sufficient water over the bars for even the shallowest drafted vessels.

From The Shellback's Progress In the Nineteenth Century by Runciman, Walter

From the observed heights of spring and neap tides he determined the lunar tide, and thence made an estimate of the mass of the moon.

From Pioneers of Science by Lodge, Oliver, Sir