tidal wave

See synonyms for tidal wave on Thesaurus.com

noun

(not in technical use) a large, destructive ocean wave, produced by a seaquake, hurricane, or strong wind.: Compare tsunami.
either of the two great wavelike swellings of the ocean surface that move around the earth on opposite sides and give rise to tide, caused by the attraction of the moon and sun.

any widespread or powerful movement, opinion, or tendency: a tidal wave of public indignation.

Origin of tidal wave

First recorded in 1820–30

Words that may be confused with tidal wave

cyclone, hurricane, tidal wave , tornado, tsunami, typhoon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tidal wave in a sentence

Can there actually be massive tidal waves like the one we saw on the first planet they visited?
Neil deGrasse Tyson Breaks Down ‘Interstellar’: Black Holes, Time Dilations, and Massive Waves | Marlow Stern | November 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“There are tidal waves of laughs,” says Brandon Reilly, 20, who stars as Matt.
Max Friedlich, Teenage Playwright, Dazzles With Controversial ‘SleepOver’ | Ramin Setoodeh | August 24, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
He said a remedy to consider going forward is to construct a high bank that would better protect the plant from high tidal waves.
Radiation in Tokyo's Tap Water | Lennox Samuels | March 23, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
As night fell, it was hard to say whether the relentless tidal waves would spare them.
Japan's First Dark Night After the Earthquake and Tsunami | Lennox Samuels | March 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
It is that system that has forecast continuing tidal waves in the Pacific Basin in the wake of the earthquake.
Huge Quake and Tsunami Hit Japan | Lennox Samuels | March 11, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

But it wasn't right to be messing another man's sleep with tidal waves that didn't belong to the other man.
The Belted Seas | Arthur Colton
At the time, then, of these tidal waves, it is a flat impossibility that transit can be altogether comfortable.
America To-day, Observations and Reflections | William Archer
Even the coast of America felt the shock of the explosion and was swept by tidal waves of huge proportions.
Astounding Stories of Super-Science, November, 1930 | Various
Tidal waves devastated the shores of England and France on several occasions.
The Romantic Settlement of Lord Selkirk's Colonists | George Bryce
It is not enough that Providence should be the author, at least passively, of earthquakes and gales and tidal waves.
The Book of This and That | Robert Lynd

British Dictionary definitions for tidal wave

tidal wave

noun

a name (not accepted in technical usage) for tsunami
an unusually large incoming wave, often caused by high winds and spring tides

a forceful and widespread movement in public opinion, action, etc

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

Scientific definitions for tidal wave

tidal wave

Either of the two swells or crests of surface ocean water created by the gravitational effects of the Moon and Sun and circling the globe on opposite sides to create the daily periods of high and low tides. Also called tidal bulge
An unusual rise in the level of water along a seacoast, as from a storm or a combination of wind and tide. Also called storm surge

A tsunami.

usage For tidal wave

The term tidal wave is used in everyday speech to refer to a gigantic and enormously destructive wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption-what scientists would properly call a tsunami. When scientists use the word tidal wave, they normally are referring to an unusually large wave or bulge of water that sometimes occurs around a high tide. These tidal waves are certainly big and powerful, but they are tiny in comparison with tsunamis.

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