tide over

British  

verb

1. (tr) to help to get through (a period of difficulty, distress, etc)

   the money tided him over until he got a job

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tide over Idioms  

1. Support through a difficult period, as in I asked my brother for $100 to tide me over until payday. This expression alludes to the way the tide carries something. [Early 1800s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tide over

“Significant beach erosion will occur. Flooding of sea water is likely, around the time of high tide, over vulnerable low-lying coastal areas such as parking lots, beaches, walkways, and low-lying roads.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Economists like Wignaraja say the government should just about be able to tide over the flood crisis and the fuel price hike with effective fiscal management.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

U.S. officials say that accessing the overseas stocks will help tide over the Ukrainians until American ammunition makers can ramp up their production.

From New York Times ● Jan. 17, 2023

In our love story, the thickly buttered bread was a tide over to get us through a rough patch.

From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2022

Horsemen, riding very swiftly, had indeed been sighted: still far behind but gaining on the Orcs, gaining on them like a tide over the flats on folk straying in a quicksand.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien