tide over

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noun

the periodic rise and fall of the waters of the ocean and its inlets, produced by the attraction of the moon and sun, and occurring about every 12 hours.

the inflow, outflow, or current of water at any given place resulting from the waves of tides.

flood tide.

a stream or current.

anything that alternately rises and falls, increases and decreases, etc.: the tide of the seasons.

current, tendency, or drift, as of events or ideas: the tide of international events.

any extreme or critical period or condition: The tide of her illness is at its height.

a season or period in the course of the year, day, etc. (now used chiefly in combination): wintertide; eventide.

Ecclesiastical. a period of time that includes and follows an anniversary, festival, etc.

10.

Archaic. a suitable time or occasion.

11.

Obsolete. an extent of time.

verb (used without object)

12.

to flow as the tide; flow to and fro.

13.

to float or drift with the tide.

00:10

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a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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verb (used with object)

14.

to carry, as the tide does.

Verb phrases

15.

tide over,

to assist in getting over a period of difficulty or distress.

to surmount (a difficulty, obstacle, etc.); survive.

Idioms

16.

turn the tide, to reverse the course of events, especially from one extreme to another: The Battle of Saratoga turned the tide of the american revolution.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English (noun); Old English tīd time, hour; cognate with Dutch tijd, German Zeit, Old Norse tīth; akin to time

Related forms

tide·ful, adjective

tide·less, adjective

tide·less·ness, noun

tide·like, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To tide over

Collins

World English Dictionary

tide¹ (taɪd)

—n
1.	tide-generating force neap tide See also spring tide the cyclic rise and fall of sea level caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and moon. There are usually two high tides and two low tides in each lunar day
2.	the current, ebb, or flow of water at a specified place resulting from these changes in level: the tide is coming in
3.	ebb See flood
4.	a widespread tendency or movement: the tide of resentment against the government
5.	a critical point in time; turning point: the tide of his fortunes
6.	dialect (Northern English) a fair or holiday
7.	(in combination) a season or time: Christmastide
8.	rare any body of mobile water, such as a stream
9.	archaic a favourable opportunity

—vb
10.	to carry or be carried with or as if with the tide
11.	(intr) to ebb and flow like the tide

[Old English tīd time; related to Old High German zīt, Old Norse tīthr time]

'tideless¹

—*adj*

'tidelike¹

—*adj*

tide² (taɪd)

—vb
	archaic (intr) to happen

[Old English tīdan; related to Old Frisian tīdia to proceed to, Middle Low German tīden to hurry, Old Norse tītha to desire]

tide over

—vb
	(tr) to help to get through (a period of difficulty, distress, etc): the money tided him over until he got a job

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

tide

O.E. tid "point or portion of time, due time," from P.Gmc. *tidiz "division of time" (cf. O.S. tid, Du. tijd, O.H.G. zit, Ger. Zeit "time"), from PIE *di-ti- "division, division of time," suffixed form of base *da- "to divide, cut up" (cf. Skt. dati "cuts, divides;" Gk. demos "people, land," perhaps

lit. "division of society;" daiesthai "to divide;" O.Ir. dam "troop, company"). Meaning "rise and fall of the sea" (1340) is probably via notion of "fixed time," specifically "time of high water;" either a native evolution or from M.L.G. getide (cf. also Du. tij, Ger. Gezeiten "flood tide"). O.E. had no specific word for this, using flod and ebba to refer to the rise and fall. The verb meaning "to carry (as the tide does)" is recorded from 1626, usually with over.

American Heritage

Medical Dictionary

tide (tīd)
n.
An alternate increase and decrease, as of levels of a substance in the blood or digestive tract.

American Heritage

Science Dictionary

tide

(tīd) Pronunciation Key
The regular rise and fall in the surface level of the Earth's oceans, seas, and bays caused by the gravitational attraction of the Moon and to a lesser extent of the Sun. The maximum high tides (or spring tides) occur when the Moon and Sun are directly aligned with Earth, so that their gravitational pull on Earth's waters is along the same line and is reinforced. The lowest high tides (or neap tides) occur when the Moon and Sun are at right angles to each other, so that their gravitational pull on Earth's waters originates from two different directions and is mitigated. Tides vary greatly by region and are influenced by sea-floor topography, storms, and water currents. See also ebb tide , flood tide , neap tide , spring tide.

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

tide over

Support through a difficult period, as in I asked my brother for $100 to tide me over until payday. This expression alludes to the way the tide carries something. [Early 1800s]

Matching Quote

"You look out from the ramparts of the citadel beyond the frontiers of civilization.... It is but a few years since Bouchette declared that the country ten leagues north of the British capital of North America was as little known as the middle of Africa. Thus the citadel under my feet, and all historical associations, were swept away again by an influence from the wilds and from Nature, as if the beholder had read her history,—an influence which, like the Great River itself, flowed from the Arctic fastnesses and Western forests with irresistible tide over all."

-Henry David Thoreau

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