ebb

• POS: Noun, Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

ebb, n. 

 The European bunting.  [1913 Webster]

ebb, n. [AS. ebba; akin to Fries. ebba, D. eb, ebbe, Dan. & G. ebbe, Sw. ebb, cf. Goth. ibuks backward; prob. akin to E. even.].

•  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.  [1913 Webster]

  "Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow
  Claspest the limits of morality!"  [1913 Webster]
•  The state or time of passing away; a falling from a better to a worse state; low state or condition; decline; decay.  Roscommon.  [1913 Webster]

  "Painting was then at its lowest ebb."  [1913 Webster]

  "This alternation between unhealthy activity and depression, this ebb and flow of the industrial."  [1913 Webster]

Ebb and flow, the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively.

ebb, v. i. [AS. ebbian; akin to D. & G. ebben, Dan. ebbe. See 2d Ebb.].

•  To flow back; to return, as the water of a tide toward the ocean; -- opposed to flow.  [1913 Webster]

  "That Power who bids the ocean ebb and flow."  [1913 Webster]
•  To return or fall back from a better to a worse state; to decline; to decay; to recede.  [1913 Webster]

  "The hours of life ebb fast."

Syn. -- To recede; retire; withdraw; decay; decrease; wane; sink; lower.

ebb, v. t. 

 To cause to flow back.  Ford.  [1913 Webster]

ebb, a. 

 Receding; going out; falling; shallow; low.  [1913 Webster]
"The water there is otherwise very low and ebb."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

ebb, n. & v.
--n.
1 the movement of the tide out to sea (also attrib. : ebb tide).
2 the process of draining away of flood-water etc.
--v.intr. (often foll. by away)
1 (of tidewater) flow out to sea; recede; drain away.
2 decline; run low (his life was ebbing away).

Idiom

at a low ebb in a poor condition or state of decline. ebb and flow a continuing process of decline and upturn in circumstances. on the ebb in decline.

Etymology

OE ebba, ebbian

THESAURUS

ebb

abate, ablate, advance, ascend, back, back up, bate, be eaten away, budge, calm, calm down, catabasis, cease, cessation, change, change place, circle, climb, collapse, comedown, consume, consume away, corrode, course, crash, crumble, dead set, dead stand, dead stop, deadlock, debasement, decadence, decadency, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrease, decrescendo, deformation, degeneracy, degenerateness, degeneration, degradation, deliquesce, demotion, depravation, depravedness, depreciation, derogation, descend, descent, deterioration, devolution, die, die away, die down, diminish, diminuendo, direct tide, dive, downtrend, downturn, downward mobility, downward trend, drift away, drop, drop off, dwindle, dwindling, dying, dying down, ease off, ebb and flow, ebb tide, ebbing, effeteness, erode, fade, fade away, fading, fail, failing, failure, failure of nerve, fall, fall away, fall off, falling-off, flood, flood tide, flow, flow back, flow in, flow out, flush, flux, flux and reflux, full stop, full tide, get over, go, go around, go away, go down, go downhill, go off, go round, go sideways, gush, gyrate, halt, high tide, high water, hit a slump, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, involution, issue, languish, lapse, lessen, let up, lock, loss of tone, low tide, low water, lull, lunar tide, make, melt away, moderate, molder, mount, move, move away, move off, move over, neap, neap tide, opposite tide, pacify, peter out, plummet, plunge, pour, progress, pull away, quiesce, quiet, quieten, reach the depths, recede, refluence, reflux, regress, regression, regurgitate, relent, remission, retire, retreat, retrocede, retrocession, retrogradation, retrograde, retrogress, retrogression, rip, riptide, rise, rotate, run, run down, run low, rush, sag, set, shift, shrink, sink, slacken, slide, slip, slippage, slowdown, slump, soar, solar tide, soothe, spin, spring tide, stand, stand off, standstill, stillstand, stir, stop, stream, subside, subsidence, surge, surge back, tail off, thalassometer, tidal amplitude, tidal current, tidal current chart, tidal flow, tidal range, tide, tide chart, tide gate, tide gauge, tide race, tide rip, tidewater, tideway, touch bottom, tranquilize, travel, trend, wane, waning, waste, waste away, wear, wear away, whirl, widen the distance, withdraw

ROGET THESAURUS

ebb

Waste

N waste, consumption, expenditure, exhaustion, dispersion, ebb, leakage, loss, wear and tear, waste, prodigality, misuse, wasting, rubbish, mountain in labor, wasted, at a low ebb, wasteful, penny wise and pound foolish, magno conatu magnas nugas, le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle, idly busy rolls their world away.

VB spend, expend, use, consume, swallow up, exhaust, impoverish, spill, drain, empty, disperse, cast away, fool away, muddle away, throw away, fling away, fritter away, burn the candle at both ends, waste, squander, waste its sweetness on the desert air, cast one's bread upon the waters, cast pearls before swine, employ a steam engine to crack a nut, waste powder and shot, break a butterfly on a wheel, labor in vain, cut blocks with a razor, pour water into a sieve, leak, run to waste, ebb, melt away, run dry, dry up.

Deterioration

N deterioration, debasement, wane, ebb, recession, retrogradation, decrease, degeneracy, degeneration, degenerateness, degradation, depravation, depravement, devolution, depravity, demoralization, retrogression, masochism, impairment, inquination, injury, damage, loss, detriment, delaceration, outrage, havoc, inroad, ravage, scath, perversion, prostitution, vitiation, discoloration, oxidation, pollution, defoedation, poisoning, venenation, leaven, contamination, canker, corruption, adulteration, alloy, decline, declension, declination, decadence, decadency, falling off, caducity, decrepitude, decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear, corrosion, erosion, moldiness, rottenness, moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse, disorganization, delabrement (destruction), aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron, vinefretter, vinegrub, wreck, mere wreck, honeycomb, magni nominis umbra, jade, plug, rackabones, skate, tackey, tacky, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate, Adj, unimproved &c (improve), deteriorated, altered, altered for the worse, injured, sprung, withering, spoiling, on the wane, on the decline, tabid, degenerate, marescent, worse, the worse for, all the worse for, out of repair, out of tune, imperfect, the worse for wear, battered, weathered, weather-beaten, stale, passe, shaken, dilapidated, frayed, faded, wilted, shabby, secondhand, threadbare, worn, worn to a thread, worn to a shadow, worn to the stump, worn to rags, reduced, reduced to a skeleton, far gone, tacky, decayed, moth-eaten, worm-eaten, mildewed, rusty, moldy, spotted, seedy, time-worn, moss-grown, discolored, effete, wasted, crumbling, moldering, rotten, cankered, blighted, tainted, depraved, decrepid, decrepit, broke, busted, broken, out of commission, hors de combat, out of action, broken down, done, done for, done up, worn out, used up, finished, beyond saving, fit for the dust hole, fit for the wastepaper basket, past work, at a low ebb, in a bad way, on one's last legs, undermined, deciduous, nodding to its fall, tottering, past cure, fatigued, retrograde, deleterious, out of the frying pan into the fire, agrescit medendo, what a falling off was there!, deterioration, debasement, wane, ebb, recession, retrogradation, decrease, degeneracy, degeneration, degenerateness, degradation, depravation, depravement, devolution, depravity, demoralization, retrogression, masochism, impairment, inquination, injury, damage, loss, detriment, delaceration, outrage, havoc, inroad, ravage, scath, perversion, prostitution, vitiation, discoloration, oxidation, pollution, defoedation, poisoning, venenation, leaven, contamination, canker, corruption, adulteration, alloy, decline, declension, declination, decadence, decadency, falling off, caducity, decrepitude, decay, dilapidation, ravages of time, wear and tear, corrosion, erosion, moldiness, rottenness, moth and rust, dry rot, blight, marasmus, atrophy, collapse, disorganization, delabrement (destruction), aphid, Aphis, plant louse, puceron, vinefretter, vinegrub, wreck, mere wreck, honeycomb, magni nominis umbra, jade, plug, rackabones, skate, tackey, tacky, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate, Adj, unimproved &c (improve), deteriorated, altered, altered for the worse, injured, sprung, withering, spoiling, on the wane, on the decline, tabid, degenerate, marescent, worse, the worse for, all the worse for, out of repair, out of tune, imperfect, the worse for wear, battered, weathered, weather-beaten, stale, passe, shaken, dilapidated, frayed, faded, wilted, shabby, secondhand, threadbare, worn, worn to a thread, worn to a shadow, worn to the stump, worn to rags, reduced, reduced to a skeleton, far gone, tacky, decayed, moth-eaten, worm-eaten, mildewed, rusty, moldy, spotted, seedy, time-worn, moss-grown, discolored, effete, wasted, crumbling, moldering, rotten, cankered, blighted, tainted, depraved, decrepid, decrepit, broke, busted, broken, out of commission, hors de combat, out of action, broken down, done, done for, done up, worn out, used up, finished, beyond saving, fit for the dust hole, fit for the wastepaper basket, past work, at a low ebb, in a bad way, on one's last legs, undermined, deciduous, nodding to its fall, tottering, past cure, fatigued, retrograde, deleterious, out of the frying pan into the fire, agrescit medendo, what a falling off was there!.

VB be worse, be deteriorated, become worse, become deteriorated Adj, have seen better days, deteriorate, degenerate, fall off, wane, ebb, retrograde, decline, droop, go down, go downhill, go from bad to worse, go farther and fare worse, jump out of the frying pan into the fire, run to seed, go to seed, run to waste swale, sweal, lapse, be the worse for, sphacelate: break, break down, spring a leak, crack, start, shrivel, fade, go off, wither, molder, rot, rankle, decay, go bad, go to decay, fall into decay, fall into the sear and yellow leaf, rust, crumble, shake, totter, totter to its fall, perish, die, deteriorate, weaken, put back, set back, taint, infect, contaminate, poison, empoison, envenom, canker, corrupt, exulcerate, pollute, vitiate, inquinate, debase, embase, denaturalize, denature, leaven, deflower, debauch, defile, deprave, degrade, ulcerate, stain, discolor, alloy, adulterate, sophisticate, tamper with, prejudice, pervert, prostitute, demoralize, brutalize, render vicious, embitter, acerbate, exacerbate, aggravate, injure, impair, labefy, damage, harm, hurt, shend, scath, scathe, spoil, mar, despoil, dilapidate, waste, overrun, ravage, pillage, wound, stab, pierce, maim, lame, surbate, cripple, hough, hamstring, hit between wind and water, scotch, mangle, mutilate, disfigure, blemish, deface, warp, blight, rot, corrode, erode, wear away, wear out, gnaw, gnaw at the root of, sap, mine, undermine, shake, sap the foundations of, break up, disorganize, dismantle, dismast, destroy, damnify, do one's worst, knock down, deal a blow to, play havoc with, play sad havoc with, play the mischief with, play the deuce with, play the very devil with, play havoc among, play sad havoc among, play the mischief among, play the deuce among, play the very devil among, decimate.

Decrease

N nonincrease, decrease, decrease, diminution, lessening, subtraction, reduction, abatement, declension, shrinking (contraction, ), coarctation, abridgment, extenuation, subsidence, wane, ebb, decline, ebbing, descent, decrement, reflux, depreciation, deterioration, anticlimax, mitigation, unincreased, decreased, decreasing, on the wane, a gilded halo hovering round decay, fine by degrees and beautifully less.

VB decrease, diminish, lessen, abridge, shrink, drop off, fall off, tail off, fall away, waste, wear, wane, ebb, decline, descend, subside, melt away, die away, retire into the shade, hide its diminished head, fall to a low ebb, run low, languish, decay, crumble, bate, abate, dequantitate, discount, depreciate, extenuate, lower, weaken, attenuate, fritter away, mitigate, dwarf, throw into the shade, reduce, shorten, subtract.

Contraction

VB become small, become smaller, lessen, decrease, grow less, dwindle, shrink, contract, narrow, shrivel, collapse, wither, lose flesh, wizen, fall away, waste, wane, ebb, decay, be smaller than, fall short of, not come up to, render smaller, lessen, diminish, contract, draw in, narrow, coarctate, boil down, constrict, constringe, condense, compress, squeeze, corrugate, crimp, crunch, crush, crumple up, warp, purse up, pack, squeeze, stow, pinch, tighten, strangle, cramp, dwarf, bedwarf, shorten, circumscribe, restrain, (subtraction) 38 abrade, pare, reduce, attenuate, rub down, scrape, file, file down, grind, grind down, chip, shave, shear, wear down.

Regression

N regress, regression, retrocession, retrogression, retrograduation, retroaction, reculade, retreat, withdrawal, retirement, remigration, recession, recess, crab-like motion, refluence, reflux, backwater, regurgitation, ebb, return, resilience reflection, reflexion (recoil), flip-flop, volte-face, counter motion, retrograde motion, backward movement, motion in reverse, counter movement, counter march, veering, tergiversation, recidivation, backsliding, fall, deterioration, recidivism, recidivity, reversal, relapse, turning point, receding, retrograde, retrogressive, regressive, refluent, reflex, recidivous, resilient, crab-like, balky, reactionary, back, backwards, reflexively, to the right about, a reculons, a rebours, revenons a nos moutons, as you were.

VB recede, regrade, return, revert, retreat, retire, retrograde, retrocede, back out, back down, balk, crawfish, crawl, withdraw, rebound, go back, come back, turn back, hark back, draw back, fall back, get back, put back, run back, lose ground, fall astern, drop astern, backwater, put about, backtrack, take the back track, veer round, double, wheel, countermarch, ebb, regurgitate, jib, shrink, shy, turn tail, turn round, turn upon one's heel, turn one's back upon, retrace one's steps, dance the back step, sound a retreat, beat a retreat, go home.