neap

[ neep ]

/ nip /

Save This Word!

adjective

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

noun

neap tide.

QUIZ

SHALL WE PLAY A "SHALL" VS. "SHOULD" CHALLENGE?

Should you take this quiz on “shall” versus “should”? It should prove to be a quick challenge!

Question 1 of 6

Which form is used to state an obligation or duty someone has?

shall

should

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of neap

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

Words nearby neap

Neanderthal, Neanderthal man, Neanderthaloid, neanic, neanthropic, neap, neaped, Neapolitan, Neapolitan ice cream, Neapolitan sixth, neap tide

Other definitions for neap (2 of 2)

neap²

[ neep ]

/ nip /

noun New England.

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

Origin of neap

1545–55 origin uncertain

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use neap in a sentence

But when there has been a neap-tide in his temper for any time, you're sure to find it followed by a flood with a vengeance.
The Pilot|J. Fenimore Cooper
It was a time of neap or spring tide, besides which the wind was in the right direction to make the water rise very high.
Shadow, the Mysterious Detective|Police Captain Howard
One of the vessels out of which ale was drunk was the Saxon nap, now the neap, or nip, out of which we drink Burton ale.
Nooks and Corners of English Life, Past and Present|John Timbs
The spring tides fill it, but during the neap tides the salt water is kept stagnant behind the sea-banks, making a small lagoon.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II)|Charles Creighton

About twelve feet was the greatest rise, which I apprehend would be diminished to eight, at the neap tides.
A Voyage to Terra Australis Volume 2|Matthew Flinders

British Dictionary definitions for neap

neap

/ (niːp) /

adjective

of, relating to, or constituting a neap tide

noun

short for neap tide

Word Origin for neap

Old English, as in nēpflōd neap tide, of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012