ebb

See also: -ebb

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

enPR: ĕb, IPA^(key): /ɛb/
Audio (US) (file)
Rhymes: -ɛb

Noun

ebb (plural ebbs)

The receding movement of the tide.
The boats will go out on the ebb.
- 1824, Mary Shelley, Time
  Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!
- 1902, John Buchan, The Outgoing of the Tide
  Men come from distant parts to admire the tides of Solway, which race in at flood and retreat at ebb with a greater speed than a horse can follow.
A gradual decline.
- 1684, Wentworth Dillon, 4th Earl of Roscommon, Essay on Translated Verse
  Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away.
- 1826, [Mary Shelley], The Last Man. […], volume (please specify |volume=I, II, or III), London: Henry Colburn, […], OCLC 230675575:
  This reflection thawed my congealing blood, and again the tide of life and love flowed impetuously onward, again to ebb as my busy thoughts changed.
(especially in the phrase 'at a low ebb') A low state; a state of depression.
- 1695, C[harles] A[lphonse] du Fresnoy, John Dryden, transl., De Arte Graphica. The Art of Painting, […], London: […] J[ohn] Heptinstall for W. Rogers, […], OCLC 261121781:
  Painting was then at its lowest ebb.
- 2002, Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 22 & 29 April
  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.
- 2020 July 29, Dr Joseph Brennan, “Railways that reach out over the waves”, in Rail, page 51:
  The 1987 book British Piers was written at a time when Britain's seaside resorts were perhaps at their lowest ebb, with a groundswell of support for rejuvenation and conservation just beginning.
A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syns. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).

Antonyms

flood
flow

Derived terms

at a low ebb
ebb and flow
ebb tide

Related terms

neap
tide

Translations

receding movement of the tide

Bulgarian: отлив (bg) m (otliv)
Catalan: reflux m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 退潮 (zh) (tuìcháo), 落潮 (zh) (luòcháo)
Esperanto: forfluo
Finnish: luode (fi), laskuvesi (fi)
French: reflux (fr) m, jusant (fr) m
Galician: devalo m, refluxo m, vazante f
Georgian: მიქცევა (mikceva), მიქცევის დინება (mikcevis dineba), ზღვის მიქცევა (zɣvis mikceva)
Irish: aife f, trá m
Old Irish: aithbe f or n
Middle English: ebbe
Persian: جزر‎ (fa) (jazr)
Polish: odpływ (pl) m
Portuguese: vazante (pt) f, refluxo m
Romanian: reflux (ro) n
Spanish: reflujo (es) m, marea (es) f
Swedish: ebb (sv) c
Welsh: trai m

low tide

Armenian: տեղատվություն (hy) (tełatvutʿyun)
Bulgarian: отлив (bg) m (otliv)
Catalan: marea baixa
Czech: odliv (cs) m
Danish: ebbe (da) c
Dutch: eb (nl) n
Esperanto: refluo, malfluso
Finnish: laskuvesi (fi), luode (fi)
French: reflux (fr) m
Galician: baixamar f
Georgian: ზღვის მიქცევა (zɣvis mikceva)
German: Ebbe (de) f
Hungarian: apály (hu)
Italian: riflusso m
Middle English: ebbe
Norwegian: fjære (no)
Polish: odpływ (pl) m
Portuguese: baixa-mar (pt) f, maré baixa f
Russian: отли́в (ru) m (otlív)
Spanish: marea baja f, bajamar (es) f
Swedish: ebb (sv) c
Turkish: cezir (tr)
Welsh: trai m
West Frisian: ebba c

Verb

ebb (third-person singular simple present ebbs, present participle ebbing, simple past and past participle ebbed)

(intransitive) to flow back or recede
The tides ebbed at noon.
(intransitive) to fall away or decline
The dying man's strength ebbed away.
(intransitive) 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.

Synonyms

ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, wane

Translations

to fall away or decline

Bulgarian: спадам (bg) (spadam)
Catalan: baixar (ca), retirar-se (ca), refluir (ca) (la marea)
Chinese:
Cantonese: 減退 (gaam² teoi³)
Dutch: wegebben (nl)
French: refluer (fr), décliner (fr)
Galician: vazar, devalar (gl)
Georgian: დაკნინება (daḳnineba), დაქვეითება (dakveiteba), რეგრესი (regresi)
German: ebben (de), abebben (de)
Hungarian: apad (hu), hanyatlik (hu), fogy (hu), fogyatkozik (hu), gyengül (hu)
Irish: tráigh
Maori: heke (of the tide), tāwhati, keketu (of the tide), timu (of the tide), tiremi (of the tide)
Middle English: ebben
Portuguese: vazar (pt), refluir (pt)
Russian: ослабевать (ru) (oslabevatʹ)
Swedish: ebba (sv)

Adjective

ebb (comparative ebber, superlative ebbest)

low, shallow
- 1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “(please specify |book=I to XXXVII)”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the VVorld. Commonly Called, The Natvrall Historie of C. Plinivs Secvndus. […], (please specify |tome=1 or 2), London: […] Adam Islip, published 1635, OCLC 1180792622:
  All the sea lying betweene, is verie ebbe, full of shallowes and shelves

Anagrams

BBE

Swedish

Etymology

From Dutch or German Ebbe.

Noun

ebb c

ebb; low tide
Antonyms: flod, högvatten
Synonym: lågvatten

Declension

Declension of ebb
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	ebb	ebben	—	—
Genitive	ebbs	ebbens	—	—