neap

[ neep ]

/ nip /

adjective

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

noun

neap tide.

Nearby words

neanderthal, neanderthal man, neanderthaloid, neanic, neanthropic, neap, neap tide, neaped, neapolitan, neapolitan ice cream, neapolitan sixth

Origin of neap

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

Definition for neap (2 of 2)

neap

[ 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. 2019

Examples from the Web for neap

But in the season of neap tides enough water is left for them to swim about within the semi-circle of stakes.
A Canadian Manor and Its Seigneurs|George M. Wrong
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
In crossing, I found a most rapid tide, at least five or six knots at neap tides, and to pull against it was out of the question.
Narrative of the surveying voyages of His Majesty's ships Adventure and Beagle, between the years 1826 and 1836|Robert FitzRoy
With other thinkers the tide rose and fell alternately, yet always moved from the neap of Platonism towards the spring.
Beauty and the Beast|Stewart A. McDowall

So we have spring tides regularly once a fortnight, with neap tides in between.
Pioneers of Science|Oliver Lodge

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

Word Origin and History for neap

neap

adj.

Middle English, from Old English nepflod "neap flood," the tide occurring at the end of the first and third quarters of the lunar month, in which high waters are at their lowest, of unknown origin, with no known cognates (Danish niptid probably is from English). Original sense perhaps is "without power." As a noun from 1580s.