Link Centre Dictionary

ebb

UK/ɛb/ US/ˈɛb/ uncommon
verb (3) noun (2)

verb

1.

flow back or recede

  • “the tides ebbed at noon”
Synonyms
Antonyms
2.

hem in fish with stakes and nets so as to prevent them from going back into the sea with the ebb

3.

fall away or decline

  • “The patient”

noun

1.

a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number)

Synonyms
2.

the outward flow of the tide

Synonyms

Origin

From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-West Germanic *abbjā, from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abjǭ, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. See also West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Danish ebbe, Old Norse efja (“countercurrent”), Old English af. More at of, off.

Phrases

  • at a low ebb
  • ebb and flow
  • ebb tide

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Parts

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.