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.
the inflow, outflow, or current of water at any given place resulting from the waves of tides.
anything that alternately rises and falls, increases and decreases, etc.: the tide of the seasons.
current, tendency, or drift, as of events or ideas: the tide of international events.
any extreme or critical period or condition: The tide of her illness is at its height.
a season or period in the course of the year, day, etc. (now used chiefly in combination): wintertide; eventide.
Ecclesiastical. a period of time that includes and follows an anniversary, festival, etc.
Archaic. a suitable time or occasion.
Obsolete. an extent of time.
verb (used without object),tid·ed,tid·ing.
to flow as the tide; flow to and fro.
to float or drift with the tide.
verb (used with object),tid·ed,tid·ing.
to carry, as the tide does.
Verb Phrases
tide over,
to assist in getting over a period of difficulty or distress.
to surmount (a difficulty, obstacle, etc.); survive.
Idioms
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.
Origin of tide
1
before 900;Middle English (noun); Old Englishtīd time, hour; cognate with Dutchtijd,GermanZeit,Old Norsetīth; akin to time
Related formstide·ful, adjectivetide·less, adjectivetide·less·ness, nountide·like, adjective
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 daySee also tide-generating force, neap tide, spring tide
the current, ebb, or flow of water at a specified place resulting from these changes in levelthe tide is coming in
Old English tid "point or portion of time, due time," from Proto-Germanic *tidiz "division of time" (cf. Old Saxon tid, Dutch tijd, Old High German zit, German Zeit "time"), from PIE *di-ti- "division, division of time," suffixed form of root *da- "to divide, cut up" (cf. Sanskrit dati "cuts, divides;" Greek demos "people, land," perhaps literally "division of society;" daiesthai "to divide;" Old Irish dam "troop, company").
Meaning "rise and fall of the sea" (mid-14c.) is probably via notion of "fixed time," specifically "time of high water;" either a native evolution or from Middle Low German getide (cf. also Dutch tij, German Gezeiten "flood tide"). Old English seems to have had no specific word for this, using flod and ebba to refer to the rise and fall. Old English heahtid "high tide" meant "festival, high day."
tide
v.
"to carry (as the tide does)," 1620s, from tide (n.). Usually with over. Related: Tided; tiding.
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. See also ebb tideflood tideneap tidespring tide.
