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tide

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tide¹

  • /taɪd/ US, UK
  • /tɑjd/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [tɑed] Australia, New Zealand
  • /tʌɪd/ Scotland
  • /tɛɪd/ Northumbria
  • [tʰaːd]

Sounds like tied (except in Scotland and Northumbria) · Rhymes with -aɪd

Where it comes from

Inherited from Middle English tide, from Old English tīd, from Proto-West Germanic *tīdi, from Proto-Germanic *tīdiz, from Proto-Indo-European *dih₂tís, from *déh₂itis, from *deh₂y- + *-tis. Related to time.

Cognate with Dutch tijd (“time”), German Zeit (“time”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish tid (“time”), Faroese and Icelandic tíð (“time”).

noun tides

  1. The daily fluctuation in the level of the sea caused by the gravitational influence of the moon and the sun. The Bristol Channel has some of the world's largest tides.
  2. The associated flow of water. A lot of driftwood was brought in on the tide.
  3. Any similar gravitational effect on Earth or other body. As well as sea tides, there are much smaller land tides.
  4. A high-volume flow, literal or figurative; a current or flood. The sewer burst, and a tide of sewage poured into nearby properties.

    Similar: inflood, inflooding, inflow, inflowing, influx

  5. figuratively The tendency or direction of causes, influences, or events; course; current. The tide of public opinion has turned.
  6. obsolete Time, notably anniversary, period or season linked to an ecclesiastical feast. [...] and rest their weary limbs a tide.
  7. archaic, regional A time. The doctor's no good this tide.
  8. archaic, in compounds, regional A point or period of time identified or described by a qualifier. Eventide, noontide, morrowtide, nighttide, moontide, harvesttide, wintertide, summertide, springtide, autumntide etc.
  9. The period of twelve hours.

verb tides · tiding · tided

  1. transitive To cause to float with the tide; to drive or carry with the tide or stream. They are tided down the stream.
  2. broadly, in the phrase tide over To carry over or through a problem or difficulty.
  3. intransitive, rare To pour a tide or flood. The ocean tided most impressively.
  4. intransitive To work into or out of a river or harbor by drifting with the tide and anchoring when it becomes adverse.

tide²

  • /taɪd/ US, UK
  • /tɑjd/ British, Southern, Standard
  • [tɑed] Australia, New Zealand
  • /tʌɪd/ Scotland
  • /tɛɪd/ Northumbria
  • [tʰaːd]

Sounds like tied (except in Scotland and Northumbria) · Rhymes with -aɪd

Where it comes from

From Middle English tiden, tide, from Old English tīdan (“to happen”).

verb tides · tiding · tided

  1. intransitive, obsolete To happen, occur. I wit not what may tide us here

    Similar: betide, befall

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: surge, groundswell, tidal, flood, stream, sea, tsunami, avalanche, barrage, deluge, wind, spate, water, fire, torrent, steam

Translations

Every language

noun current, stream, flood

DeutschStrom, Strömung
Italianocorso
Ελληνικάρεύμα révma
Русскийпото́к potók, тече́ние tečénije

noun tendency or direction of causes, influences or events; course; current

Françaistendance
DeutschTrend, Lauf, Gang, Tendenz
Ελληνικάροπή ropí
Русскийнаправле́ние napravlénije

noun time, notably liturgical anniversary or season

Русскийвре́мя vrémja

noun periodic change of sea level — see also flood tide, ebb tide, high tide, low tide

Españolmarea
한국어조석 joseok
日本語潮 shio, 潮汐 chōseki
中文潮 cháo, 潮汐 cháoxī
हिन्दीज्वारभाँटा jvārbhā̃ṭā
Portuguêsmaré
Françaismarée
DeutschGezeiten, Tide
Italianomarea
Ελληνικάπαλίρροια palírroia
Românămaree
Русскийприли́в prilív, отли́в otlív
Tiếng Việtthủy triều
العربيةمَدّ وَجَزْر madd wa-jazr

verb cause to float with the tide

Ελληνικάπάω με το ρεύμα páo me to révma

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Cite this
MLA

"tide." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tide. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

tide. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tide

Chicago

"tide." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tide.

BibTeX
@misc{tide_2026,
  title = {tide},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tide},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}