Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Ebb
Ebb
(ĕb)
, Noun.
(Zoöl.)
The European bunting.
Ebb
,Noun.
[AS.
ebba
; akin to Fries. ebba
, D. eb
, ebbe
, Dan. & G. ebbe
, Sw. ebb
, cf. Goth. ibuks
backward; prob. akin to E. even.
] 1.
The reflux or flowing back of the tide; the return of the tidal wave toward the sea; – opposed to
flood
; as, the boats will go out on the
. ebb
Thou shoreless flood which in thy
Claspest the limits of morality!
ebb
and flowClaspest the limits of morality!
Shelley.
2.
The state or time of passing away; a falling from a better to a worse state; low state or condition; decline; decay.
“Our ebb of life.” Roscommon.
Painting was then at its lowest
ebb
. Dryden.
Ebb and flow
, the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively.
This alternation between unhealthy activity and depression, this
ebb and flow
of the industrial. A. T. Hadley.
Ebb
,Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Ebbed
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Ebbing
.] 1.
To flow back; to return, as the water of a tide toward the ocean; – opposed to
flow
. That Power who bids the ocean
ebb
and flow. Pope.
2.
To return or fall back from a better to a worse state; to decline; to decay; to recede.
Syn. – To recede; retire; withdraw; decay; decrease; wane; sink; lower.
Ebb
,Verb.
T.
To cause to flow back.
[Obs.]
Ford.
Ebb
,Adj.
Receding; going out; falling; shallow; low.
The water there is otherwise very low and
ebb
. Holland.
Webster 1828 Edition
Ebb
EBB
,Noun.
1.
Decline; decay; a falling from a better to a worse state; as the ebb of life; the ebb of prosperity.EBB
,Verb.
I.
1.
To decay; to decline; to return or fall back from a better to a worse state.Definition 2024
ebb
ebb
See also: -ebb
English
Noun
ebb (plural ebbs)
- The receding movement of the tide.
- The boats will go out on the ebb.
- (Can we date this quote?) Shelley
- Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!
- A gradual decline.
- (Can we date this quote?) Roscommon
- Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away.
- Shelley, Mary, The Last Man
- 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.
- (Can we date this quote?) Roscommon
- A low state; a state of depression.
- (Can we date this quote?) Dryden
- 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.
- (Can we date this quote?) Dryden
- A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syn. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).
Derived terms
Antonyms
Related terms
Translations
receding movement of the tide
low tide
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.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Ford to this entry?)
Synonyms
ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, wane
Translations
to fall away or decline
Adjective
ebb (comparative ebber, superlative ebbest)