neap tide

Meanings

1. 1phrasecountabletechnical

   A tide that happens twice a month when the difference between high and low water is at its smallest.

   Grammar: Countable noun phrase: a neap tide, the neap tides. Often used without an article when talking in general: at neap tide.

   Patterns

   • at neap tide
   • during neap tides

   At neap tide the harbor stays shallow and the water barely moves.

   Fishermen prefer to launch the boat during a neap tide because the current is gentle.

   Neap tides happen when the sun and moon pull the sea from different directions.

2. 2phrasesingulartechnical

   The period of time when this weak tide occurs, around the first and third quarter of the moon.

   Grammar: Used with the: the neap tide this week. It points to a stretch of days rather than a single event.

   Patterns

   • the neap tide is due
   • before the neap tide

   The neap tide arrives in a few days, so the sandbar will stay covered.

   Sailors checked the tide table to see when the neap tide would begin.

Word forms

Common combinations

during a neap tide

The channel was easy to cross during a neap tide.

neap and spring tides

Students learn the difference between neap and spring tides.

weak neap tide

A weak neap tide left the mud flats half dry.

neap tide range

The neap tide range here is only about a meter.

approaching neap tide

With the approaching neap tide, the divers planned a calm day.

Synonyms and how they differ

low tide

Low tide is the lowest point of any single tide, while a neap tide describes the whole two-week phase when tides are weak.

minimum tide

Minimum tide is a rarely used descriptive phrase, whereas neap tide is the standard term in navigation and oceanography.

Opposites

Word family

spring tide noun

a tide with an especially large range, near new and full moon

tide noun

the regular rise and fall of the sea

tidal adjective

relating to tides

high tide noun

the time when the sea is at its highest

Commonly confused: neap tide or spring tide?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “neap tide”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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