ebb1 nounebb2 verb
ebbebb1 /eb/ noun 
WORD ORIGINebb1
Origin:
Old English ebbaEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- The latest setback is another sign of the ebb in the governor's influence.
- At her lowest ebb, she would have scorned to stoop to such tactics.
- At his lowest ebb, Macari was threatened with imprisonment and his wife rang friends to secure bail money of £50,000.
- In the past eighteen months he has felt at an appallingly low ebb.
- Inspiration seemed to be at a very low ebb.
- John summed it up as the super sixties, sobering seventies and ebb and flow of the eighties.
- We had a few concluding words about the literary scene in London, which he thought to have reached a pretty low ebb.
Longman Language Activatorto be at the lowest level
the lowest level ever reached: be at an all-time low: · Exports of manufactured goods are now at an all-time low.· Morale at the company is at an all-time low, and staff are leaving in droves.sink to/fall to/reach an all-time low: · Ratings for the once-popular game show seem to have reached an all-time low.· The president's popularity has fallen to an all-time low.
the lowest level of success, hope, health etc: be at its/their lowest ebb: · Consumer confidence is at its lowest ebb since January.· With the company's fortunes at their lowest ebb for 25 years, lay-offs seem inevitable.something sinks/falls to its lowest ebb: · In the late 1980s, her career sank to its lowest ebb.· Relations with Washington have fallen to their lowest ebb.
WORD SETSbarrier reef, nounbed, nounchart, verbcontinental shelf, nouncoral reef, nouncross-current, nouncurrent, nounebb, nounebb, verbfreshwater, adjectivehigh water mark, nouniceberg, nounice cap, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nounlow water mark, nounmarine, adjectivemaritime, adjectiveocean, nounpack ice, nounrock pool, nounroller, nounsaltwater, adjectivesandbank, nounsand bar, nounsea, nounsediment, nounsedimentary, adjectiveshoal, nounsound, verbsoundings, nounspray, nounspring tide, nounspume, nounstrait, nounstrength, nounsubmarine, adjectivesurf, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountide, nountide-mark, nountide pool, nountidewater, nountrench, nountsunami, nounundersea, adjectiveundertow, nounwave, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
the ebb and flow of the tide We watched the tide ebb and flow.
the ebb and flow of the tide We watched the tide ebb and flow. (=the flow of the sea away from the shore)· We sailed out to sea on the ebb tide.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE· Jackie tries to explain she was at her lowest ebb when she sought comfort from Shelley.· Idei is overhauling a corporate structure Sony introduced in mid-1994 when its fortunes were at a low ebb.· We had a few concluding words about the literary scene in London, which he thought to have reached a pretty low ebb.· At his lowest ebb, Macari was threatened with imprisonment and his wife rang friends to secure bail money of £50,000.· In the past eighteen months he has felt at an appallingly low ebb.· Inspiration seemed to be at a very low ebb.· Her spirits were at their lowest ebb.
NOUN· And she couldn't bear the thought of being sucked back into the ebb tide of loneliness again either.· It was ebb tide and the current was in their favour.· Flounders were plentiful, with many undersize fish caught on the ebb tide.· But Grace wouldn't need them to go out to sea on the ebb tide.· He had missed the ebb tide.
VERB· We had a few concluding words about the literary scene in London, which he thought to have reached a pretty low ebb.· Still, she had a sneaking hope that as she'd reached her lowest ebb, the tide might turn.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1[singular] (also ebb tide) the flow of the sea away from the shore, when the tide goes out OPP flood tide2be at a low ebb to be in a bad state or condition: - I was at my lowest ebb after the kidney surgery.
- Basic research on petrochemicals was at a low ebb around 1980.
- He came in when the lads were at a low ebb somewhere on the ocean bed.
- Idei is overhauling a corporate structure Sony introduced in mid-1994 when its fortunes were at a low ebb.
- Interest in religion seemed to be at a low ebb.
- Self-confidence can be at a low ebb if you've just been told to p ... off by an embittered pedestrian.
- Manufacturers need to anticipate the ebb and flow of consumer demand.
- A moaning north wind that ebbed and flowed like the sound of surf and ocean waves.
- But he related well to me, although his engagement ebbed and flowed.
- In the harbour you got a secondary ebb and flow between the main tides.
- Inside the room I saw the pulsing ebb and flow of light that meant a fire.
- It was ebb and flow, up and down, punch and counterpunch that didn't want to end.
- Nixon always will remain a vivid figure for those of us who watched the ebb and flow of his remarkable career.
- The ebb and flow of controversy in television news items did not produce corresponding trends in public interest and discussion.
- There is always an ebb and flow, an inner energy used to enhance mood and expression.
His confidence is at a low ebb.3ebb and flow a situation or state in which something increases and decreases in a kind of pattern: the ebb and flow of the conversation the ebb and flow of passengers in the stationebb1 nounebb2 verb
ebbebb2 verb [intransitive] VERB TABLE
ebb
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | it | ebbs |
| Past | it | ebbed |
| Present perfect | it | has ebbed |
| Past perfect | it | had ebbed |
| Future | it | will ebb |
| Future perfect | it | will have ebbed |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | it | is ebbing |
| Past | it | was ebbing |
| Present perfect | it | has been ebbing |
| Past perfect | it | had been ebbing |
| Future | it | will be ebbing |
| Future perfect | it | will have been ebbing |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- I could feel my courage ebbing away.
- As El Ni o ebbs away, drought follows the torrential rain.
- But the fear, whatever it was, was ebbing, and I could once again take deep breaths and release them.
- But the power of men like Allen ebbed quickly after segregationist Democrats regained command of the Legislature in 1872.
- But their strength was ebbing away, and neither DeFreitas nor Botham could contribute, both on the field but carrying injuries.
- Delay it, and its vitality would ebb.
- Now the excitement had begun to ebb at leaving Miss Tish.
- The tide was ebbing, and they went down on the steeply shelving bed of the Conway.
- Under these conditions, our normal self-assurance ebbs.
WORD SETS
barrier reef, nounbed, nounchart, verbcontinental shelf, nouncoral reef, nouncross-current, nouncurrent, nounebb, nounebb, verbfreshwater, adjectivehigh water mark, nouniceberg, nounice cap, nounice pack, nounice sheet, nounlow water mark, nounmarine, adjectivemaritime, adjectiveocean, nounpack ice, nounrock pool, nounroller, nounsaltwater, adjectivesandbank, nounsand bar, nounsea, nounsediment, nounsedimentary, adjectiveshoal, nounsound, verbsoundings, nounspray, nounspring tide, nounspume, nounstrait, nounstrength, nounsubmarine, adjectivesurf, nountidal, adjectivetidal wave, nountide, nountide-mark, nountide pool, nountidewater, nountrench, nountsunami, nounundersea, adjectiveundertow, nounwave, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES the ebb and flow of the tide We watched the tide ebb and flow.
1if the tide ebbs, it flows away from the shore2 (also ebb away) to gradually decrease: the ebb and flow of the tide We watched the tide ebb and flow. (=the flow of the sea away from the shore)· We sailed out to sea on the ebb tide.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· It was all very well to make brave plans but here in the presence of this brooding giant, courage ebbed away.· Their ritual rage ebbed away, to be replaced by a mounting fear.· But their strength was ebbing away, and neither DeFreitas nor Botham could contribute, both on the field but carrying injuries.· I could feel the enthusiasm ebbing away as the workmen became more and more exhausted.· London's crumbling pillars Confidence in the City of London's main institutions is ebbing away.· Lancaster meanwhile was encamped near Bedford, and seeing his support ebb away he made another offer of submission.· The spontaneity of the dancers ebbed away and they seemed almost shamefaced that their behaviour had been witnessed by their employers.· Either way, everything that had been beginning was now ending, ebbing away without hope.
NOUN· How much attention do these programmes pay to the real dynamics of peer group pressures as they ebb and flow across adolescence?· There is no trace of litter, despite the hundreds of affluent shoppers who ebb and flow along these consumerist highways.
· The tide was now ebbing fast.· Fortunately, the tide of destruction is ebbing and the tide of conservation is coming in....· But the tide of prosperity ebbed, leaving the town unfinished.· With a yet slower rhythm than the polar ice, the tides of civilization ebbed and flowed across the galaxy.· The tide was ebbing, and they went down on the steeply shelving bed of the Conway.· Moreover, the tide was ebbing and the cumbrous vessel was in danger of running aground and not getting off.· It is a pretty boring place, except tides ebb and flood there, as do the seasons.
Linda’s enthusiasm began to ebb away.- discus
- discuss
- discussion
- discussion list
- disdain
- disdainful
- disdainfully
- disease
- diseased
- disembark
- disembarkation
- disembodied
- disembowel
- disembowelment
- disenchanted
- disenchantment
- disenfranchise
- disenfranchised
- disenfranchisement
- disengage
- disengaged
- disengagement
- disentangle
- disequilibrium
- disestablish