tidal wave
Pronunciation
  • enPR: tīd'əl wāv, IPA: /ˈtaɪdəlweɪv/
Noun

tidal wave (plural tidal waves)

  1. A large and sudden rise and fall in the tide.
  2. (proscribed) A large, sudden, and disastrous wave of water caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean; a tsunami. (See Usage notes below.)
    The last tidal wave here killed twenty and left thousands homeless.
  3. (proscribed) A large, sudden inundation of water from the storm surge, or waves of that surge.
  4. (figuratively) A sudden and powerful surge.
    As the doors opened, a tidal wave of people flooded into the room.
    I was overcome by a tidal wave of emotions.
  5. (archaic) A crest of ocean water; a wave.
  6. (oceanography) A crest of ocean water resulting from tidal forces.
Related terms Translations
  • French: raz-de-marée
  • Italian: onda di marea, onda anomala
  • Portuguese: onda de maré
  • Russian: прили́вная волна́
Translations Translations Translations
  • Russian: океани́ческая волна́



This text is extracted from the Wiktionary and it is available under the CC BY-SA 3.0 license | Terms and conditions | Privacy policy 0.002
Offline English dictionary