Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense ebbs, present participle ebbing, past tense, past participle ebbed
1. verb
When the tide or the sea ebbs, its level gradually falls.
When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. [VERB]
2. countable noun
Theebb or the ebb tide is one of the regular periods, usually two per day, when the sea gradually falls to a lower level as the tide moves away from the land.
...the spring ebb tide.
We decided to leave on the ebb at six o'clock next morning.
Synonyms: flowing back, going out, withdrawal, retreat More Synonyms of ebb
3. verb
If someone's life, support, or feeling ebbs, it becomes weaker and gradually disappears.
[formal]
...as a man's physical strength ebbs. [VERB]
Were there occasions when enthusiasm ebbed? [VERB]
Ebb away means the same as ebb.
His little girl's life ebbed away. [VERBPARTICLE]
Their popular support is ebbing away. [VERBPARTICLE]
4.
See at a/o's low(est) ebb
5.
See ebb and flow
More Synonyms of ebb
ebb in British English
(ɛb)
verb(intransitive)
1.
(of tide water) to flow back or recede
Compare flow (sense 9)
2.
to fall away or decline
noun
3.
a.
the flowing back of the tide from high to low water or the period in which this takes place
b.
(as modifier)
the ebb tide
Compare flood (sense 3)
4. at a low ebb
Word origin
Old English ebba; related to Old Norse efja river bend, Gothic ibuks moving backwards, Old High German ippihōn to roll backwards, Middle Dutch ebbe ebb
ebb in American English
(ɛb)
noun
1.
the flow of water back toward the sea, as the tide falls
2.
a weakening or lessening; decline
the ebb of faith
verb intransitive
3.
to flow back; recede, as the tide
4.
to weaken or lessen; decline
SIMILAR WORDS: wane
Word origin
ME ebbe < OE ebba (common LowG, as in MLowG ebbe > Ger ebbe, OFris ebba) < Gmc *abjan, a going back < IE base *apo-, from, away from > off1
More idioms containing
ebb
at a low ebb
Examples of 'ebb' in a sentence
ebb
Today we report that this taboo may be ebbing away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You sit absolutely stock still, literally watching your life ebb away.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Your upper limit is likely to be your colleague's lowest ebb.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
County thought they had done enough to win only their second game of the season as five minutes of injury time ebbed away.
The Sun (2016)
While deposits continue to disappoint, more such episodes are as inevitable as the ebb and flow of the tide.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
As public opinion turns against them and junior doctors feel the effects of industrial action on their pay packet, support will surely ebb away.
The Sun (2016)
The delicious ebb and flow of the Ryder Cup format means parity can swiftly turn to disaster.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
These days, Egyptian tourism is at its lowest ebb.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
I was at a low ebb and guess I needed some attention.
The Sun (2016)
The extreme grief of the past two years is ebbing and life sounds pretty good.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Yet as time passed he also noticed his energy was ebbing away.
The Sun (2014)
The ebb and flow is beautifully judged.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The tide has ebbed to find another shore.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Trust in the banks is at a low ebb.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
But that is ebbing by the day.
The Sun (2016)
She cradled him in her arms as his life ebbed away.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The civilian death toll jumped and support ebbed away.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
The conversation ebbed and flowed over the ensuing few hours.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Politicians only sensed the anger once the economic tide began to ebb.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The win came at her lowest ebb.
The Sun (2009)
He could feel his life ebbing away.
The Sun (2012)
Public anger should ebb away once the threat of force to end the demonstration has been removed.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Perhaps we caught it on the ebb tide.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Such companies tend to do relatively well when the economy is at its lowest ebb.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Time has no beginning and no ending for one in a position to feel its ebb and flow.
Stanley Bing THROWING THE ELEPHANT (2002)
This ebb of the tide continued from the middle of the preceding night until dark on the following night.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The romance was ebbing away fast.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
As you do so, your uterus will relax and the pain should gradually ebb away.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
The day ebbed and flowed, as the game has.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
When one 16-year-old fan first contacted me she was at a really low ebb in her life.
The Sun (2010)
Is my strength ebbing away?
The Times Literary Supplement (2011)
It does not merely reflect ebbing support for the war, anger over our political leaders, or uncertainty about our war aims.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In other languages
ebb
British English: ebb VERB
When the tide or the sea ebbs, its level gradually falls.
When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans.
American English: ebb
Brazilian Portuguese: baixar
Chinese: 退潮
European Spanish: bajar
French: descendre
German: zurückgehen
Italian: rifluire
Japanese: 潮が引く
Korean: 바닷물이 빠지다
European Portuguese: baixar
Latin American Spanish: bajar
1 (verb)
Definition
(of the sea or the tide) to flow back from its highest point
We hopped from rock to rock as the tide ebbed from the causeway.
Synonyms
flow back
go out
withdraw
Troops withdrew from the country last March.
sink
retreat
They were forced to retreat.
fall back
The congregation fell back from them as they entered.
wane
His interest in art to wane.
recede
The illness began to recede.
fall away
2 (verb)
Definition
to fall away or decline
There were occasions when my enthusiasm ebbed.
Synonyms
decline
a declining birth rate
drop
Temperatures can drop to freezing at night.
sink
Our hopes were sinking fast.
flag
His enthusiasm was in no way flagging.
weaken
The storm was finally beginning to weaken.
Family structures are weakening and breaking up.
shrink
The vast forests have shrunk.
diminish
The threat of war has diminished.
decrease
Population growth is decreasing each year.
deteriorate
X-rays are used to prevent fresh food from deteriorating.
decay
The work ethic in this country has decayed over the past 30 years.
dwindle
The factory's workforce has dwindled.
lessen
The burden will lessen if you ask someone for help.
subside
The pain had subsided during the night.
degenerate
The argument degenerated into a fist fight.
fall away
Demand began to fall away.
fade away
abate
The storms soon abated.
peter out
The strike seemed to be petering out.
slacken
Inflationary pressures continued to slacken last month.
1 (noun)
Definition
the flowing back of the tide from high to low water
We decided to leave on the ebb at six o'clock next morning.
Synonyms
flowing back
going out
withdrawal
retreat
wane
waning
regression
low water
low tide
ebb tide
outgoing tide
falling tide
receding tide
2 (noun)
the ebb of her creative powers
Synonyms
decline
Rome's decline in the fifth century.
drop
He was prepared to take a drop in wages.
sinking
flagging
weakening
decrease
There has been a decrease in the number of young unemployed people.
decay
problems of urban decay
dwindling
lessening
a lessening of tension on the border
deterioration
the rapid deterioration in relations between the two countries
fading away
petering out
slackening
degeneration
the degeneration of our political system
subsidence
shrinkage
diminution
a slight diminution in asset value
idiom
See at a low ebb
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abate
Definition
to make or become less strong
The storms soon abated.
Synonyms
decrease,
decline,
relax,
ease,
sink,
fade,
weaken,
diminish,
dwindle,
lessen,
slow,
wane,
subside,
ebb,
let up,
slacken,
attenuate,
taper off
in the sense of decay
Definition
to decline gradually in health, prosperity, or quality
The work ethic in this country has decayed over the past 30 years.