tide

¹ American  

[tahyd] / taɪd /

noun

• tides
  plural

1. the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the ocean and its inlets, produced by the attraction of the moon and sun, and occurring about every 12 hours.

2. the inflow, outflow, or current of water at any given place resulting from the waves of tides.

3. flood tide.

4. a stream or current.

5. anything that alternately rises and falls, increases and decreases, etc..

   the tide of the seasons.

6. current, tendency, or drift, as of events or ideas.

   the tide of international events.

7. any extreme or critical period or condition.

   The tide of her illness is at its height.

8. a season or period in the course of the year, day, etc. (now used chiefly in combination).

   wintertide; eventide.

9. Ecclesiastical. a period of time that includes and follows an anniversary, festival, etc.

10. Archaic. a suitable time or occasion.

11. Obsolete. an extent of time.

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verb (used without object)

tided, tiding

1. to flow as the tide; flow to and fro.

2. to float or drift with the tide.

verb (used with object)

tided, tiding

1. to carry, as the tide does.

verb phrase

1. tide over

   1. to assist in getting over a period of difficulty or distress.

   2. to surmount (a difficulty, obstacle, etc.); survive.

idioms

1. turn the tide, to reverse the course of events, especially from one extreme to another.

   The Battle of Saratoga turned the tide of the American Revolution.

tide ² American  

[tahyd] / taɪd /

verb (used without object)

Archaic.

tided, tiding

1. to happen or befall.

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tide ¹ British  

/ taɪd /

noun

1. the cyclic rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. There are usually two high tides and two low tides in each lunar day See also tide-generating force neap tide spring tide

2. the current, ebb, or flow of water at a specified place resulting from these changes in level

   the tide is coming in

3. See ebb flood

4. a widespread tendency or movement

   the tide of resentment against the government

5. a critical point in time; turning point

   the tide of his fortunes

6. dialect a fair or holiday

7. (in combination) a season or time

   Christmastide

8. rare any body of mobile water, such as a stream

9. archaic a favourable opportunity

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verb

1. to carry or be carried with or as if with the tide

2. (intr) to ebb and flow like the tide

tide ² British  

/ taɪd /

verb

1. archaic (intr) to happen

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tide Scientific  

/ tīd /

1. The regular rise and fall in the surface level of the Earth's oceans, seas, and bays caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and to a lesser extent of the Sun. The maximum high tides (or spring tides) occur when the Moon and Sun are directly aligned with Earth, so that their gravitational pull on Earth's waters is along the same line and is reinforced. The lowest high tides (or neap tides) occur when the Moon and Sun are at right angles to each other, so that their gravitational pull on Earth's waters originates from two different directions and is mitigated. Tides vary greatly by region and are influenced by sea-floor topography, storms, and water currents.

2. See also ebb tide flood tide neap tide spring tide

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tide More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing tide

• stem the tide
• swim against the current (tide)
• swim with the tide
• time and tide
• turn of the tide

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• tidelessness
  noun
• tideful
  adjective
• tideless
  adjective
• tidelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• tides
  plural

Etymology

Origin of tide¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English tīd “time, hour”; cognate with Dutch tijd, German Zeit, Old Norse tīth; akin to time

Origin of tide²

First recorded before 1000; Middle English tiden, Old English tīdan; see betide

Explanation

The tide is the daily rise and fall of the sea level. You can count on the regular changing patterns of the tide, unless of course a tsunami is headed your way. In a figurative sense, tide can mean a rising swell of support or unified feeling about a certain opinion or topic. So you may surf at high tide but also enjoy the rising tide of enthusiasm about surfing. If there is a wave of anything — immigration, inflation, terror — it can be referred to as a tide. No surfboards can navigate those tricky waves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tide tides tided tiding

Juyon founded the group after she was struck by the amount of rubbish floating around her boat while she was coxing on the River Avon at high tide.

From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026

The 99-yard return looked like it might turn the tide for the Trojans, until, on the next drive, Rutgers busted a 49-yard run into the red zone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

The weight of the Japanese numbers eventually turned the tide.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Eisenhower needed a full moon, low tide, not much cloud or wind and low seas, external.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

Limber crawled into a tide pool, and she and Roz chatted over the sounds of crashing waves.

From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown

An autopsy found Noah had died from drowning, with the tunnel he was found in heading towards Belfast Lough and its tides.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

After days of high tides and the remnants of Hurricane Marie battering his home, Leib said his wife has asked if they can sell the house and move elsewhere.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Now, unprecedented heat in the ocean, which causes water to expand, is churning out tides as high as 6.7 feet on Sunday, 7 feet on Monday evening, and a forecast 7.2 feet for Tuesday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Long Beach officials concerned about structural damage from usually high tides driven by Tropical Storm Marie evacuated some 20 homes along the Long Beach Peninsula Monday evening.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“It’s not like the tides just hit Wednesday night, like one of those tsunamis, one-shot deal. • • Tides are twice a day, every day. Full moons will really be killers.”

From "The Dead and the Gone" by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The invention has tided him over as the semester ended this week.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2025

The review concluded that the music of “Ukrainia” did suggest “the colossal wealth of youthful and untouched vitality which had tided over centuries of the most tragic history in the world.”

From Slate ● Dec. 19, 2019

They then went back to their changing room, showered and changed, tided up, removed the rubbish and left a note for ground staff reading “thank you” in Russian.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 15, 2018

Co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss tided us over with a Victorian-set Sherlock Christmas special last winter, but we’re ready to see the modern Sherlock take on the mysteriously resurrected Moriarty.

From Time ● Jul. 20, 2016

It wasn’t enough for Vonetta to say her poem, which was actually Gwendolyn Brooks’s poem tided “We Real Cool.”

From "One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia

She was proved correct, and was tiding up broken statues when spoke to the BBC.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2025

No. It’s an appetizer for better things to come, an amuse-bouche at best — at worst, a placeholder meal of cinematic comfort food, tiding us all over until it’s summer blockbuster season again.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2023

That’s not much, but it’s still the best discount available on the classic VR-reimagining of the Capcom classic, tiding you over before the new remake comes out in 2023.

From The Verge ● Jun. 20, 2022

In fact, as a thank you for Bill’s prompt and polite cooperation, Wilson said he sent him a small present, a trademark Brandon Wilson tiding of good will: a file containing 1,000 old accounts.

From New York Times ● Aug. 14, 2014

Vetch furnishes essential spring forage for bees before the alfalfa is in bloom, tiding them over this early season so that they are ready to pollinate the alfalfa.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Related Words

• flood
• spate
• stream
• tendency
• torrent
• trend
• undercurrent
• wave