neap tide  (nēp)   (click for larger image in new window) n. A tide that occurs when the difference between high and low tide is least; the lowest level of high tide. Neap tide comes twice a month, in the first and third quarters of the moon. [Middle English neep, from Old English nēp(flōd), neap (tide).] |
neap tide (nēp) Pronunciation Key
(click for larger image in new window) A tide in which the difference between high and low tide is the least. Neap tides occur twice a month when the Sun and Moon are at right angles to the Earth. When this is the case, their total gravitational pull on the Earth's water is weakened because it comes from two different directions. Compare spring tide. See more at tide. |
neap tide
tide of minimal range occurring near the time when the Moon and the Sun are in quadrature. This condition is geometrically defined as the time at which the line from the Earth to the Moon is at right angles to the line from the Earth to the Sun. Thus, the tide-producing effects of the Sun and the Moon cancel each other, and tidal ranges are usually 10 to 30 percent less than the mean tidal range. See also tide.
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