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Glite Dictionary
tidemark

tidemark

8.2
A visible line on the shore or on boats showing how high the tide reached
  • noun
  • /ˈtaɪdˌmɑrk/
translation icon : marca de marea
  • At low tide, we could see the tidemark left on the rocks where the water usually reaches.

Examples

  • As we passed in line through the broad gap in the coral, we could see the breakers on either hand; then we noticed the course of the freshwater stream on the foreshore, then the coconut palms, and at last the houses built on pilings at the tidemark.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • During the storm, the water rose past the tidemark, leaving debris scattered along the beach.

  • Landmark, Tidemark...

    Castration Movie Anthology i. Traps (2025)

  • I've cleaned the tidemark and put the loofah back under the stairs.

    An Awfully Big Adventure (1995)

  • The children drew in the sand below the tidemark, marking the highest point of the tide.

Synonyms

watermark
vstidemark
2 4.9

A mark on a wall showing the highest water level after a flood

is specifically about shore marks for tide highs or lows not general flood levels
strandline
vstidemark
  • Specialized
8.6

A line of seaweed and pieces of wood left on the shore by high tide

is a general visible marker of highest or lowest tidal reach not only debris

Surface Forms

tidemark singular
tidemarks plural

Morphology

tidemark = tide + mark (transparent) = tide + mark

The meaning is a direct combination of 'tide' and 'mark' (a mark left by the tide), which is readily inferable from the components.

Etymology

Tidemark is a simple compound of two common words: tide (the sea's movement) and mark ('a sign'). Think of a line of wet sand, seaweed, or a stain on a boat that 'marks' how high the water reached, so tidemark means the visible line left by the tide.