swim with the tide

Idioms  

1. Go along with prevailing opinion or thought, as in Irene doesn't have a mind of her own; she just swims with the tide. In the late 1600s this idiom was also put as swim down the stream, a usage not much heard today. The present form was first recorded in 1712. For the antonym, see swim against the current.

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Example Sentences

He tries to swim with the tide, but he said wind and choppy water make progress harder.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 12, 2023

But throughout his career, Michaels has learned to swim with the tide.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 13, 2022

Other grocers, after a second look, decided to swim with the tide rather than fight it.

From Time Magazine Archive

You want to begin right now and swim with the tide.

From Ancestors A Novel by Atherton, Gertrude Franklin Horn

If we do not swim with the tide, we must stamp out this creed at once.”

From Jovinian A Story of the Early Days of Papal Rome by Kingston, William Henry Giles

Related Words

• accommodate
• accustom
• adapt
• alter
• conform
• fine-tune
• fix
• modify
• regulate
• tailor