'Ebb and flow' definitions:
Definition of 'Ebb and flow'
From: GCIDE
- Ebb \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.]
- 1. 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! --Shelley. [1913 Webster]
- 2. 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." --Roscommon. [1913 Webster]
- Painting was then at its lowest ebb. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- Ebb and flow, the alternate ebb and flood of the tide; often used figuratively. [1913 Webster]
- This alternation between unhealthy activity and depression, this ebb and flow of the industrial. --A. T. Hadley. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'ebb and flow'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- alternate,
- alternation,
- back and fill,
- back-and-forth,
- battledore and shuttlecock,
- be poised,
- billow,
- break,
- comb,
- come and go,
- coming and going,
- crash,
- dash,
- direct tide,
- ebb,
- ebb tide,
- flood,
- flood tide,
- flounder,
- flow,
- fluctuate,
- flux,
- flux and reflux,
- full tide,
- go through phases,
- heave,
- high tide,
- high water,
- hitch and hike,
- lift,
- Lissajous figure,
- low tide,
- low water,
- lunar tide,
- neap,
- neap tide,
- opposite tide,
- oscillate,
- pass and repass,
- peak,
- pendulate,
- popple,
- reciprocate,
- reciprocation,
- refluence,
- reflux,
- rhythmic play,
- ride and tie,
- ring the changes,
- rip,
- riptide,
- rise,
- rise and fall,
- roll,
- scend,
- seesaw,
- seesawing,
- send,
- shift,
- shuffle,
- shuttle,
- shuttlecock,
- sine wave,
- smash,
- solar tide,
- spring tide,
- stagger,
- surge,
- sway,
- swell,
- swing,
- teeter,
- teeter-totter,
- teeter-tottering,
- teetering,
- 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,
- to-and-fro,
- toss,
- totter,
- tottering,
- turn,
- undulate,
- ups and downs,
- vacillate,
- vary,
- wave,
- waver,
- wax and wane,
- wibble-wabble,
- wigwag,
- wobble,
- zigzag