I. tide 1 /taɪd/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: tid 'time' ]
1 . the tide the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea
the tide is in/out (=the sea is at a low/high level)
Is the tide going out or coming in?
We went for a walk and got cut off by the tide.
⇨ ↑ high tide (1), ↑ low tide
2 . [countable] a current of water caused by the tide:
Strong tides make swimming dangerous.
3 . [countable, usually singular] the way in which events or people’s opinions are developing
tide of
With the tide of public opinion against him, the president may lose.
It was their first major victory. The tide had turned (=changed) .
The tide of battle turned against the Mexican army.
swim with/against the tide (=support or oppose what most people think)
4 . [countable, usually singular] a large amount of something that is increasing and is difficult to control
tide of violence/crime etc
The crisis prompted a rising tide of protest.
She swallowed back a tide of emotion.
efforts to stem the tide of hysteria caused by the shootings (=prevent it from getting worse)
5 . [singular] a large number of people or things moving along together
tide of
the tide of refugees flowing over the border
6 . Christmastide/eveningtide/morningtide etc old use a particular time of the year or day
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ the tide is in (=the sea covers the shore)
You can’t walk on the beach when the tide is in.
▪ the tide is out
Let’s go for a walk along the beach while the tide is out.
▪ high tide
At high tide the island is completely cut off.
▪ low tide
The sands are exposed at low tide.
▪ the incoming tide
The box was carried upstream on the incoming tide.
▪ the rising tide
The rising tide had begun to fill up the channel.
▪ an ebb tide (=the flow of the sea away from the shore)
We sailed out to sea on the ebb tide.
▪ a flood tide (=the flow of the sea towards the land)
The wind drove the yacht inland on the flood tide.
▪ a spring tide (=a large rise and fall in the level of the sea, that happens when there is a new moon and when there is a full moon)
It must be a spring tide.
▪ a neap tide (=a very small rise and fall in the level of the sea, that happens at the first and third quarters of the moon)
Spring tides alternate with neap tides.
■ verbs
▪ the tide comes in (=the sea comes nearer)
Once the tide comes in, the cove is cut off.
▪ the tide goes out
They sat on the beach watching the tide going out.
▪ the tide turns (=starts coming in or going out)
Soon, the tide would turn and the waves would begin to creep inshore again.
▪ be cut off by the tide (=become trapped as the sea rises)
Two anglers had to be rescued after getting cut off by the tide.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ the sea especially British English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
She lives by the sea.
|
The sea was very rough.
▪ the ocean especially American English the large area of salty water that covers much of the Earth’s surface:
a house by the ocean
|
The restaurant had a sweeping view of the ocean.
▪ waters a large area of water – used about an area of water that belongs to a particular country, or when describing what the water is like:
boats fishing in Canadian waters
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British territorial waters
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the calm waters of the harbour
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dangerous waters
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choppy waters (=with a lot of waves)
▪ bay an area of sea that is partly enclosed by a curve in the land:
I swam across the bay.
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the Bay of Biscay
▪ gulf a very large area of sea partly enclosed by land:
the Gulf of Mexico
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oil from the Gulf (=the area of water near Iran, Saudi Arabia etc)
▪ tide the regular rising and falling of the level of the sea:
Is the tide going out or coming in ?
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High tide (=when the sea is at its highest level) is at 4 o'clock in the afternoon.
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low tide (=when the sea is at its lowest level)
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The rocks are visible at low tide.
▪ wave a line of raised water that moves across the surface of the sea:
The waves were crashing against the rocks.
II. tide 2 BrE AmE verb
tide somebody over (something) phrasal verb
to help someone through a difficult period, especially by lending them money:
Could you lend me £10 to tide me over till next week?