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

See Examples For:

swim with the tide

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

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 William Henry Giles Kingston

But your book will swim with the tide.

From Letters to the Clergy On The Lord's Prayer and the Church by John Ruskin

Related Words

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