tide definition - Dictionary

MSN homeMailMy MSN

encartagreeting cards

encarta®

Dictionary

Thesaurus

Translations

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Also available:

World English Dictionary
Dictionnaire Français

tide

tide [ tīd ]

noun (plural tides)

Definition:

1. rise and fall of ocean: the cyclic rise and fall of the ocean or another body of water produced by the attraction of the Moon and Sun, occurring about every twelve hours

2. inflow or outflow of water: the ebb or flow of water at a specific place resulting from the cyclic rise and fall of the ocean

3. geography
Same as flood tide (sense 1)

4. general trend: something that rises and falls, especially a tendency or trend

the tide of public opinion

5. period of time: a period of time or a season ( archaic ) ( usually used in combination )

Yuletide

6. physics gravitational stress on something: a stress caused by gravitational attraction, e.g. in the atmosphere or on an astronomical object

verb (past and past participle tid·ed, present participle tid·ing, 3rd person present singular tides)

Definition:

1. transitive and intransitive verb carry along on tide: to carry somebody or something along on the tide, or be carried along in this way

2. intransitive verb ebb and flow: to ebb and flow like the tide

[ Old English tīd "time" < Indo-European, "to divide"]

tide·less adjective

swim against the tide to have an opinion or take a stance that is different from or opposite to that taken by most others

swim with the tide to follow the opinions and attitudes of other people

turn the tide to reverse the way things happen

Spelling Note


	tide or tied? Do not confuse the spelling of tide and tied, which sound similar. Tide refers to the rise and fall of the ocean, or a general trend: waiting for the tide to come in, the tide of events. This word is also used as a verb, in related senses and also with over to mean "help somebody through a difficult time, especially with a loan or gift of money": gave me $100 to tide me over. Tied is the past tense and participle of tie "fasten things together," and is also used as an adjective referring to something loaned on specific conditions.