EBB • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Ebb

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noun

Ebb n. (Zoöl.) The European bunting.

Ebb n.

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 ebb and flow Claspest the limits of morality!"

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." "Painting was then at its lowest ebb."

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."

verb

Ebb v. t. To cause to flow back. (Obs.)

Ebb v. i. (past & past part. ebbed; pres. part. ebbing)

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."

To return or fall back from a better to a worse state; to decline; to decay; to recede. "The hours of life ebb fast."

Synonyms: To recede; retire; withdraw; decay; decrease; wane; sink; lower.

adjective

Ebb adj. Receding; going out; falling; shallow; low. "The water there is otherwise very low and ebb."

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Etymology of 'Ebb'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Ebb" Quotes from Famous Books

... a tolerably important town, and is about half the extent of Dover. The houses are all painted a pure white colour, which has a fine effect when brought so immediately in contrast with the surrounding scenery. There being no ebb or flow of the sea in this part of the earth, no beach exists, and the houses are built on piles close to the water's edge, ships of 500 or 600 tons being moored at the very doors of ...

— A Yacht Voyage to Norway, Denmark, and Sweden - 2nd edition • W. A. Ross

... spirits did not fail him, those of his men were at a very low ebb indeed. He was repeatedly told so by subordinate commanders; nevertheless (there was something Napoleonic in his character), he would not desist from his design, but issued instructions that there was to be a resolute defence of ...

— My Days of Adventure - The Fall of France, 1870-71 • Ernest Alfred Vizetelly

... to the stout oak door, he forced it back. The wind moaned and hissed through the closing aperture. It was like the ebb of a broken wave to those who had heard the sea. Turning about, as the candles on the table blinked, the young man lazily dashed the rain and sleet from his beard and breast, and lay down again on the settle, with something between a shiver and a yawn. "Cruel night, this," ...

— The Shadow of a Crime - A Cumbrian Romance • Hall Caine

... Duke of Portland gravely expressed his wonder that any one could be dissatisfied. But the public were not to be gulled; that same evening the stock fell to 640, and the next day to 540. It soon got so low as 400. The ebb tide was running fast. "Thousands of families," wrote Mr. Broderick to Lord Chancellor Middleton, "will be reduced to beggary. The consternation is inexpressible, the rage beyond description." ...

— Old and New London - Volume I • Walter Thornbury

... jointure of caution and hilarity) we find it necessary to remain in town for dinner. Then, and particularly in spring evenings, we are moved and exhilarated by that spectacle that never loses its enchantment, the golden beauty and glamour of downtown New York after the homeward ebb has left the streets quiet and lonely. By six o'clock in a May sunset the office is a cloister of delicious peace and solitude. Let us suppose (oh, a case merely hypothetic) that you have got to attend a dinner somewhere ...

— Plum Pudding - Of Divers Ingredients, Discreetly Blended & Seasoned • Christopher Morley

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