ebb
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
English [edit]
Pronunciation [edit]
Etymology [edit]
From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abjōn (compare West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Old Norse efja (“countercurrent”), from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. (compare Old English af). More at of, off.
Noun [edit]
ebb (plural ebbs)
- The receding movement of the tide.
- A gradual decline
- low state, state of depression
- The European bunting
Quotations [edit]
low state, state of depression
- 2002, A "lowest ebb" implies something singular and finite, but for many of us, born in the Depression and raised by parents distrustful of fortune, an "ebb" might easily have lasted for years. — Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 22 & 29 Apr 2002
Derived terms [edit]
Antonyms [edit]
Related terms [edit]
Translations [edit]
receding movement of the tide
low tide
Verb [edit]
ebb (third-person singular simple present ebbs, present participle ebbing, simple past and past participle ebbed)
- to flow back or recede
- The tides ebbed at noon.
- to fall away or decline
- The dying man's strength ebbed away.
- to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb
- (transitive) To cause to flow back.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)
Synonyms [edit]
ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, wane
Translations [edit]
to fall away or decline
Adjective [edit]
ebb (comparative ebber, superlative ebbest)
Swedish [edit]
Noun [edit]
ebb c
