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Glite Dictionary
⬇️ To decrease 📉 A decline 🌊 Tide going out
ebb

ebb

4 6.0
The tide that moves away from the land toward the sea
  • noun
  • /ɛb/
translation icon : marea baja
  • History has shown that trade and commercial relations between China and Cuba ebb and flow in response to changing economic circumstances.
  • ebb and flow
  • ebb tide
  • tidal ebb

And as I feel the ebbs and flow of the waves against my body and the ocean supporting my weight, I look out into the distance.

Examples

  • The ebb and flow of the Atlantic tides, the drift of the continents, the very position of the sun along its ecliptic.

    G.I. Jane (1997)

  • The tide was moving to the height of its ebb: it would nearly push him out into the bay.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Consider the ebb and flow of tides, the beauty and the bliss of water lapping at the shore.

  • As the boat floated away, we watched the ebb of the tide pulling the water back into the sea.

  • During the ebb, the shoreline revealed a variety of shells and seaweed that were normally hidden.

  • The fishermen waited for the ebb to help them reach deeper waters for a better catch.

Synonyms

ebbtide
vsebb
  • Specialized
1 9.7

A time when the sea moves away from the shore

describes the movement itself rather than the time period
reflux
vsebb
  • Archaic
7.5

Sea water moves away from the shore at low tide

is the same movement but named differently

Antonyms

flow
307 2.3

A steady movement of people, goods, or information

rise
125 2.4

A small upward slope in land or a surface

Compounds

low ebb
  • Informal
3 6.5

A time when energy and success are low

Surface Forms

ebb singular
ebbs plural

Etymology

Ebb comes from an old English word ebba that meant 'to move away' in the sea. Think of the tide pulling back and showing rocks and shells, which is the original 'ebb' when the water goes out.