Adjacent Words

tide definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the periodic rise and fall of the sea level under the gravitational pull of the moon
2: something that may increase or decrease (like the tides of the sea); "a rising tide of popular interest"
3: there are usually two high and two low tides each day [syn: tide, lunar time period] v
1: rise or move forward; "surging waves" [syn: tide, surge] [ant: ebb, ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out]
2: cause to float with the tide
3: be carried with the tide

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English, time, from Old English t?d; akin to Old High German z?t time and perhaps to Greek daiesthai to divide Date: before 12th century 1. a. obsolete a space of time ; period b. a fit or opportune time ; opportunity c. an ecclesiastical anniversary or festival; also its season — usually used in combination <Eastertide> 2. a. (1) the alternate rising and falling of the surface of the ocean and of water bodies (as gulfs and bays) connected with the ocean that occurs usually twice a day and is the result of differing gravitational forces exerted at different parts of the earth by another body (as the moon or sun) (2) a less marked rising and falling of an inland body of water (3) a periodic movement in the earth's crust caused by the same forces that produce ocean tides (4) a periodic distortion on one celestial body caused by the gravitational attraction of another (5) one of the periodic movements of the atmosphere resembling those of the ocean and produced by gravitation or diurnal temperature changes b. flood tide 1 3. a. something that fluctuates like the tides of the sea <the tide of public opinion> b. a surging movement of a group <a tide of opportunists> 4. a. a flowing stream ; current b. the waters of the ocean c. the overflow of a flooding stream • tideless adjective II. verb (tided; tiding) Date: 1593 intransitive verb to flow as or in a tide ; surge transitive verb to cause to float with or as if with the tide III. intransitive verb (tided; tiding) Etymology: Middle English, from Old English t?dan; akin to Middle Dutch tiden to go, come, Old English t?d time Date: before 12th century archaic betide, befall

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a the periodic rise and fall of the sea due to the attraction of the moon and sun (see EBB n. 1, FLOOD n. 3). b the water as affected by this. 2 a time or season (usu. in comb.: Whitsuntide). 3 a marked trend of opinion, fortune, or events. --v.intr. drift with the tide, esp. work in or out of harbour with the help of the tide. Phrases and idioms: tide-mill a mill with a water-wheel driven by the tide. tide over enable or help (a person) to deal with an awkward situation, difficult period, etc. (the money will tide me over until Friday). tide-rip (or -rips) rough water caused by opposing tides. work double tides work twice the normal time, or extra hard. Derivatives: tideless adj. Etymology: OE tid f. Gmc, rel. to TIME

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tide Tide, n. [AS. t[=i]d time; akin to OS. & OFries. t[=i]d, D. tijd, G. zeit, OHG. z[=i]t, Icel. t[=i]?, Sw. & Dan. tid, and probably to Skr. aditi unlimited, endless, where a- is a negative prefix. [root]58. Cf. Tidings, Tidy, Till, prep., Time.] 1. Time; period; season. [Obsoles.] ``This lusty summer's tide.'' --Chaucer. And rest their weary limbs a tide. --Spenser. Which, at the appointed tide, Each one did make his bride. --Spenser. At the tide of Christ his birth. --Fuller. 2. The alternate rising and falling of the waters of the ocean, and of bays, rivers, etc., connected therewith. The tide ebbs and flows twice in each lunar day, or the space of a little more than twenty-four hours. It is occasioned by the attraction of the sun and moon (the influence of the latter being three times that of the former), acting unequally on the waters in different parts of the earth, thus disturbing their equilibrium. A high tide upon one side of the earth is accompanied by a high tide upon the opposite side. Hence, when the sun and moon are in conjunction or opposition, as at new moon and full moon, their action is such as to produce a greater than the usual tide, called the spring tide, as represented in the cut. When the moon is in the first or third quarter, the sun's attraction in part counteracts the effect of the moon's attraction, thus producing under the moon a smaller tide than usual, called the neap tide. Note: The flow or rising of the water is called flood tide, and the reflux, ebb tide. 3. A stream; current; flood; as, a tide of blood. ``Let in the tide of knaves once more; my cook and I'll provide.'' --Shak. 4. Tendency or direction of causes, influences, or events; course; current. There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. --Shak. 5. Violent confluence. [Obs.] --Bacon. 6. (Mining) The period of twelve hours. Atmospheric tides, tidal movements of the atmosphere similar to those of the ocean, and produced in the same manner by the attractive forces of the sun and moon. Inferior tide. See under Inferior, a. To work double tides. See under Work, v. t. Tide day, the interval between the occurrences of two consecutive maxima of the resultant wave at the same place. Its length varies as the components of sun and moon waves approach to, or recede from, one another. A retardation from this cause is called the lagging of the tide, while the acceleration of the recurrence of high water is termed the priming of the tide. See Lag of the tide, under 2d Lag. Tide dial, a dial to exhibit the state of the tides at any time. Tide gate. (a) An opening through which water may flow freely when the tide sets in one direction, but which closes automatically and prevents the water from flowing in the other direction. (b) (Naut.) A place where the tide runs with great velocity, as through a gate. Tide gauge, a gauge for showing the height of the tide; especially, a contrivance for registering the state of the tide continuously at every instant of time. --Brande & C. Tide lock, a lock situated between an inclosed basin, or a canal, and the tide water of a harbor or river, when they are on different levels, so that craft can pass either way at all times of the tide; -- called also guard lock. Tide mill. (a) A mill operated by the tidal currents. (b) A mill for clearing lands from tide water. Tide rip, a body of water made rough by the conflict of opposing tides or currents. Tide table, a table giving the time of the rise and fall of the tide at any place. Tide water, water affected by the flow of the tide; hence, broadly, the seaboard. Tide wave, or Tidal wave, the swell of water as the tide moves. That of the ocean is called primitive; that of bays or channels derivative. --Whewell. Tide wheel, a water wheel so constructed as to be moved by the ebb or flow of the tide.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tide Tide, v. t. To cause to float with the tide; to drive or carry with the tide or stream. They are tided down the stream. --Feltham.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Tide Tide, v. i. [AS. t[=i]dan to happen. See Tide, n.] 1. To betide; to happen. [Obs.] What should us tide of this new law? --Chaucer. 2. To pour a tide or flood. 3. (Naut.) To work into or out of a river or harbor by drifting with the tide and anchoring when it becomes adverse.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(tides, tiding, tided) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The tide is the regular change in the level of the sea on the shore. The tide was at its highest... The tide was going out, and the sand was smooth and glittering... N-COUNT 2. A tide is a current in the sea that is caused by the regular and continuous movement of large areas of water towards and away from the shore. Roman vessels used to sail with the tide from Boulogne to Richborough. N-COUNT 3. The tide of opinion, for example, is what the majority of people think at a particular time. The tide of opinion seems overwhelmingly in his favour. N-SING: N of n 4. People sometimes refer to events or forces that are difficult or impossible to control as the tide of history, for example. They talked of reversing the tide of history... N-SING: the N of n 5. You can talk about a tide of something, especially something which is unpleasant, when there is a large and increasing amount of it. ...an ever increasing tide of crime... N-SING: N of n 6. see also high tide, low tide

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Rise and fall of the sea. 2. Current, stream. 3. Course, current, stream, tendency of events, direction of influences, concurrence of influences.

Foolish Dictionary

An old friend who comes and goes daily but is all in whenever he gets over the bay.

Moby Thesaurus

affluence, afflux, affluxion, big drink, blue water, chronology, concourse, confluence, conflux, continuity, course, crosscurrent, current, defluxion, direct tide, downflow, downpour, drift, driftage, drink, duration, duree, ebb, ebb and flow, ebb tide, flood, flood tide, flow, flowing, fluency, flux, flux and reflux, full tide, gush, high sea, high seas, high tide, high water, hydrosphere, inflow, lastingness, low tide, low water, lunar tide, main, main sea, mill run, millrace, neap, neap tide, ocean, ocean depths, ocean main, ocean sea, onrush, onward course, opposite tide, outflow, period, psychological time, race, refluence, reflux, rip, riptide, run, rush, salt sea, salt water, sea, set, solar tide, space, space-time, spate, spring tide, stream, surge, tense, term, thalassa, thalassometer, the bounding main, the brine, the briny, the briny deep, the deep, the deep sea, the future, the past, the present, the seven seas, the vasty deep, tidal amplitude, tidal current, tidal current chart, tidal flow, tidal range, tide chart, tide gate, tide gauge, tide race, tide rip, tidewater, tideway, time, timebinding, trend, undercurrent, undertow, water flow, while