What does "ebb" mean?
The receding movement of the tide.
Ebb
/ɛb/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The receding movement of the tide.
- Grammar: ebb is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: wane, abate, abatement, ablate.
- Useful contrasts: advance, advancing, expansion.
- Usage evidence: Relations between us seem to be on the ebb.
How to use "ebb"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "ebb" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "ebb" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "ebb" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "ebb" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "ebb" is acting as adj, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "wane" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "ebb", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The receding movement of the tide.
"The boats will go out on the ebb."
- 2 the outward flow of the tide wordnet
- 3 A gradual decline.
"Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away."
- 4 a gradual decline (in size or strength or power or number) wordnet
- 5 A low state; a state of depression. especially
"Painting was then at its lowest ebb."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syns. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).
Verb
- 1 to flow back or recede intransitive
"The tides ebbed at noon."
- 2 fall away or decline wordnet
- 3 to fall away or decline intransitive
"The dying man's strength ebbed away."
- 4 hem in fish with stakes and nets so as to prevent them from going back into the sea with the ebb wordnet
- 5 to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb intransitive
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 flow back or recede wordnet
- 7 To cause to flow back. transitive
"Parts of this town do not want a big influx of gay people and are trying to ebb it."
Adjective
- 1 low, shallow
"All the sea lying betweene, is verie ebbe, full of shallowes and shelves"
Example
"Relations between us seem to be on the ebb."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "ebb"?
Common synonyms include: wane, abate, abatement, ablate, advance, ascend.
How do you use "ebb" in a sentence?
Relations between us seem to be on the ebb.
How do you pronounce "ebb"?
Pronounced /ɛb/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
From Middle English ebben, from Old English ebbian, from Proto-West Germanic *abbjōn (“to ebb”).