Make Your Point > Archived Issues > EBB

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pronounce EBB: Say it "EBB." (It rhymes with "web.") To hear it, click here. connect this word to others: Two phrases we love:    "Ebb and flow."    "Wax and w_n_." They mean the same thing, just in different orders. That is, "ebb and flow" means "decrease and increase," while "wax and w_n_" means "increase and decrease." But the order doesn't matter; we use these phrases to talk about things that grow and shrink, grow and shrink, over and over. What's the key difference, then? We use the phrase with ebb to emphasize something flowing away, like the tidewater as it shrinks backward from the shore. And we use the phrase with w_n_ to emphasize something fading away, like the moon as it shrinks from an orb to a sliver. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "EBB" This very old word comes from Old English. To ebb is to flow back, to flow backward, to fade away, or to become less. Part of speech: Often a verb, the intransitive kind: "their energy was ebbing," "their power was starting to ebb." Also a noun, meaning "a low point." Other forms: ebbs, ebbed, ebbing How to use it:  "Ebb" is a poetic but very common little word that calls to mind the image of the ocean's edge moving gradually backward from the sand. That's because the first way we used "ebb" was to talk about ocean waters flowing backward when the tide goes out: "the sea ebbs and flows." So, we often pair the word "ebb" with its opposite, "flow," to talk about anything's "ebb and flow:" that is, its shrinking and growing, or its decreasing and increasing, especially in a naturally rhythmic way. What kinds of things ebb? Anything that can decrease, dwindle, or fade away, like strength, energy, interest, influence, power, popularity, hope, faith, desire, etc. You can also say that things and people are "at their ebb," or their low point, especially if that's a point that they return to again and again. examples: "At its lowest ebb, [Margate] was an unloved town of boarded-up shops, deserted trains, empty streets and derelict arcades."    — Tanya Gupta, BBC, 3 October 2019 "Google Ngram timeplots display the frequency that a given person is mentioned in books published each year. This provides a handle on how their reputation has ebbed and flowed over the years."    — Steven Skiena and Charles B. Ward, Who's Bigger?: Where Historical Figures Really Rank, 2014 "Yet the ear it fully knows,             By the twanging,             And the clanging,          How the danger ebbs and flows;        Yet the ear distinctly tells,             In the jangling,             And the wrangling.        How the danger sinks and swells, By the sinking or the swelling in the anger of the bells—"       — Edgar Allan Poe, "The Bells," 1850 has this page helped you understand "ebb"? Awesome, I'm glad it helped! Thanks for letting me know! If you have any questions about this word, please message me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. study it: Explain the meaning of "ebb" without saying "ease off" or "subside." try it out: "Ebbing" is the name of a fictional town in a 2017 movie called Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. (It won four Golden Globes.) Even if you haven't seen this movie, you can talk about what the word "ebbing" might convey about the town, its spirit, its health, and its residents. Why do you think the writer, Martin McDonagh, chose this word? Why did he include it in the film's title? If you like, use this space to write. (To save your work, copy and paste it into an email or a document.) before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Rhyming Puzzles! I give you a description of something, and you name it in a rhyming phrase. For example, if I say, "This is an ideal environment for a large tree-dwelling lizard--one in which this creature is perfectly happy and peaceful," then you say, "That's iguana nirvana." The answers will get longer and sillier as the month goes on. If you'd like to see the clue, click or mouse-over the link. I'll share each answer the following day. Enjoy! From the previous issue: You're known for the peppy, active spirit or attitude that's purportedly characteristic of people born between July 23 and August 22. (Yes, I just made this up, and I put no stock in astrology.) Regardless, call this leonine pep your ___ ____. (Two words, two syllables each. Clue: use this word.) Answer: Leo brio. Try this one today: As a new member of your school's environmental club, you've been handed a stack of two hundred sheets of paper, all of them encouraging students to "REDUCE! REUSE! RECYCLE!" You've been told to plaster these ads all over campus. But you're trapped, morally: you know these sheets are wasteful, that they'll be ignored, and that they'll become litter. But will they inspire enough environmental awareness to offset their very wasteful existence? Should you just sneak them into a recycling bin? If so, will your fellow club members see them and get mad at you? You're stuck. This quandary is your _____ ____. (Two words, two syllables each. Clue: use this word.) review this word: 1. The most precise opposite of EBB is FLOW. But a pretty close opposite of EBB is A. DISPLACE. B. INTENSIFY. C. WITHDRAW. 2. In the New York Times, Paul Sullivan wrote in 2019 that franchising is "_____," and that within franchising, "food, as a broad category, is ebbing." A. dead B. cyclical C. consistently escalating 1. B 2. B a final word: I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From my blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.