Ebb vs Blow - What's the difference?
ebb | blow |
The receding movement of the tide.
* (rfdate) Shelley
A gradual decline.
* (rfdate) Roscommon
A low state; a state of depression.
* (rfdate) Dryden
* 2002 , (Joyce Carol Oates), The New Yorker , 22 & 29 April
A European bunting, .
to flow back or recede
to fall away or decline
to fish with stakes and nets that serve to prevent the fish from getting back into the sea with the ebb
To cause to flow back.
low, shallow
Blue.
To produce an air current.
* 1606 , , King Lear , act 3, sc. 2:
* Walton
To propel by an air current.
To be propelled by an air current.
To create or shape by blowing; as in to blow bubbles'', ''to blow glass .
To force a current of air upon with the mouth, or by other means.
To clear of contents by forcing air through.
To cause to make sound by blowing, as a musical instrument.
To make a sound as the result of being blown.
* Milton
(of a cetacean) To exhale visibly through the spout the seawater which it has taken in while feeding.
To explode.
To cause to explode, shatter, or be utterly destroyed.
To cause sudden destruction of.
To suddenly fail destructively.
(slang) To be very undesirable (see also suck).
(slang) To recklessly squander.
(vulgar) To fellate.
To leave.
To make flyblown, to defile, especially with fly eggs.
* 1606 , , Act V, scene 2, line 55.
* 1610 , , act 3 scene 1
(obsolete) To spread by report; to publish; to disclose.
* Dryden
* Whiting
(obsolete) To inflate, as with pride; to puff up.
* Shakespeare
To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff.
* Shakespeare
To put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.
(obsolete) To talk loudly; to boast; to storm.
* Bartlett
A strong wind.
(informal) A chance to catch one’s breath.
(uncountable, US, slang) Cocaine.
(uncountable, UK, slang) Cannabis.
(uncountable, US Chicago Regional, slang) Heroin.
The act of striking or hitting.
A sudden or forcible act or effort; an assault.
* T. Arnold
A damaging occurrence.
* Shakespeare
* {{quote-news, year=2011
, date=April 15
, author=Saj Chowdhury
, title=Norwich 2 - 1 Nott'm Forest
, work=BBC Sport
To blossom; to cause to bloom or blossom.
* 1599 ,
* 1667 ,
* 1784 , William Cowper, Tirocinium; or, A Review of Schools
* '>citation
In transitive terms the difference between ebb and blow
is that ebb is to cause to flow back while blow is to put out of breath; to cause to blow from fatigue.As nouns the difference between ebb and blow
is that ebb is the receding movement of the tide while blow is a strong wind.As verbs the difference between ebb and blow
is that ebb is to flow back or recede while blow is to produce an air current.As adjectives the difference between ebb and blow
is that ebb is low, shallow while blow is blue.ebb
English
Noun
(en noun)- The boats will go out on the ebb .
- Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!
- Thus all the treasure of our flowing years, / Our ebb of life for ever takes away.
- Painting was then at its lowest ebb .
- A "lowest ebb'" implies something singular and finite, but for many of us, born in the Depression and raised by parents distrustful of fortune, an "' ebb " might easily have lasted for years.
Derived terms
* ebb and flow * ebb tideAntonyms
* flood * flowVerb
(en verb)- The tides ebbed at noon .
- The dying man's strength ebbed away .
- (Ford)
Synonyms
ebb away, ebb down, ebb off, ebb out, reflux, waneAdjective
(er)- The water there is otherwise very low and ebb . (Holland)
blow
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl) blo, bloo, from (etyl) .Adjective
(en-adj)Etymology 2
From (etyl) blowen, from (etyl) ).Verb
- "Blow', winds, and crack your cheeks! rage! ' blow !"
- Hark how it rains and blows !
- Blow the dust off that book and open it up.
- The leaves blow through the streets in the fall.
- to blow the fire
- to blow an egg
- to blow one's nose
- In the harbor, the ships' horns blew .
- There let the pealing organ blow .
- There's nothing more thrilling to the whale watcher than to see a whale surface and blow .
- There she blows ! (i.e. "I see a whale spouting!")
- Get away from that burning gas tank! It's about to blow !
- The demolition squad neatly blew the old hotel up.
- The aerosol can was blown to bits.
- He blew the tires and the engine.
- He tried to sprint, but his ligaments blew and he was barely able to walk to the finish line.
- This blows !
- I managed to blow $1000 at blackjack in under an hour.
- I blew $35 thou on a car.
- We blew an opportunity to get benign corporate sponsorship.
- Who did you have to blow to get those backstage passes?
- Let's blow this joint.
- Shall they hoist me up,
And show me to the shouting varletry
Of censuring Rome? Rather a ditch in Egypt
Be gentle grave unto me, rather on Nilus' mud
Lay me stark naked, and let the water-flies
Blow me into abhorring!
- (FERDINAND)
- I am, in my condition,
- A prince, Miranda; I do think, a king;—
- I would not so!—and would no more endure
- This wooden slavery than to suffer
- The flesh-fly blow my mouth.
- Through the court his courtesy was blown .
- His language does his knowledge blow .
- Look how imagination blows him.
- Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing .
- to blow a horse
- (Sir Walter Scott)
- You blow behind my back, but dare not say anything to my face.
Derived terms
* blow a gasket * blow a kiss * blow apart * blow away * blower * blowhard * blow hot and cold * blowhorn * blow it * blowjob * blow me * blow off * blow off steam * blow one's horn * blow one's nose * blow one's top * blow one's trumpet * blow out * blowout * blow over * blow someone out of the water * blow someone's brains out * blow someone's mind * blow someone's socks off * blow the whistle * blow up * blow upon * blowup * blow up in one's face * glassblower * mind-blowing * there she blowsNoun
(en noun)- We're having a bit of a blow this afternoon.
- The players were able to get a blow during the last timeout.
Etymology 3
(etyl) blowe, blaw, northern variant of , Middle Dutch blouwen). Related to block.Noun
(en noun)- A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
- During an exchange to end round 13, Duran landed a blow to the midsection.
- A vigorous blow might win [Hanno's camp].
- A further blow to the group came in 1917 when Thomson died while canoeing in Algonquin Park.
- a most poor man, made tame to fortune's blows
citation, page= , passage=Norwich returned to second in the Championship with victory over Nottingham Forest, whose promotion hopes were dealt another blow .}}
Synonyms
* (The act of striking) bace, strike, hit, punch * (A damaging occurrence) disaster, calamityDerived terms
* blow-by-blow * body blow * come to blows * low blowEtymology 4
(etyl) blowen, from (etyl) 'to bloom').Verb
- You seem to me as in her orb,
- As chaste as is the bud ere it be blown ;
- How blows the citron grove.
- Boys are at best but pretty buds unblown ,
- Whose scent and hues are rather guessed than known;