undertow

[ uhn-der-toh ]
See synonyms for undertow on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the seaward, subsurface flow or draft of water from waves breaking on a beach.

  2. any strong current below the surface of a body of water, moving in a direction different from that of the surface current.

Origin of undertow

1
First recorded in 1810–20; under- + tow1

synonym study For undertow

2. Undertow, underset, riptide are terms for a usually strong undercurrent in the ocean, contrary to the direction of surface water. Undertow and another nautical term, underset (a set or current contrary to the general set of the water, or contrary to the wind), came into notice early in the 19th century. The former is still in general use along the Atlantic coast; the latter now less well known. Rip, in use in the United States by the late 18th century, properly means a violently disturbed place in a body of water, usually by the meeting of opposing tides. Of recent years, in the form riptide, it has also been used, especially on the Pacific coast, to mean much the same as undertow, dangerous to bathers where heavy surf prevails.

Words Nearby undertow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use undertow in a sentence

  • Given the frustration in the international community, Israel must reverse an undertow of isolation.

  • The tide was coming in strongly, and presently the fatal undertow would sweep him out to sea.

    They Looked and Loved | Mrs. Alex McVeigh Miller
  • The reality of human progress never comes to the surface, it is a power in the deeps, an undertow.

    The New Machiavelli | Herbert George Wells
  • Here the water is as brown as oatmeal, and the undertow sucks out the boat again.

  • What was a distant rumble soon became a near-by, long undertow of ominous sound.

    Little Busybodies | Jeanette Augustus Marks and Julia Moody
  • The Captain dug his toes into the sand and braced himself as the undertow sucked back.

    Cap'n Eri | Joseph Crosby Lincoln

British Dictionary definitions for undertow

undertow

/ (ˈʌndəˌtəʊ) /


noun
  1. the seaward undercurrent following the breaking of a wave on the beach

  2. any strong undercurrent flowing in a different direction from the surface current

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 undertow

undertow

[ ŭndər-tō′ ]


  1. An underwater current flowing strongly away from shore. Undertows are generally caused by the seaward return of water from waves that have broken against the shore.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.