ebb and flow

ebb and flow

1. verb To consistently increase and decrease. I wouldn't worry too much about losing money this quarter because we'll earn it back later in the year. That's just how business ebbs and flows.
2. noun A period of consistent increase and decrease. I wouldn't worry too much because we always lose money this quarter and then earn it back later in the year. It's just the natural ebb and flow of business.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

ebb and flow

to decrease and then increase, as with tides; a decrease followed by an increase, as with tides. The fortunes of the major political parties tend to ebb and flow over time. The ebb and flow of democracy through history is a fascinating subject.
See also: and, ebb, flow
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

ebb and flow

A decline and increase, constant fluctuations. For example, He was fascinated by the ebb and flow of the Church's influence over the centuries. This expression alludes to the inward and outward movement of ocean tides. [Late 1500s]
See also: and, ebb, flow
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

ebb and flow

COMMON The ebb and flow of something is the way that it continuously changes, especially in its amount or level. The advantage to the employer is flexibility to cope with the commercial ebb and flow. The vineyards are tucked into small clearings formed by the natural ebb and flow of the hills and the trees. Note: Ebb and flow is also used as a verb meaning to change continuously, especially in amount or level. During those thirty years the fortunes of the British film industry ebbed and flowed. Note: This expression comes from the idea of the tide ebbing and flowing (= going in and out).
See also: and, ebb, flow
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

ebb and flow

a recurrent or rhythmical pattern of coming and going or decline and regrowth.
This expression makes reference to the regular movement of the tides, where ebb means move away from the land and flow move back towards it.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

the ˌebb and ˈflow (of somebody/something)

the repeated, often regular, movement from one state to another; the repeated change in level, numbers or amount: the ebb and flow of money/seasons She sat quietly, enjoying the ebb and flow of conversation.
This expression refers to the movement of the sea away from and towards the land.
See also: and, ebb, flow
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • cross over
  • face off
  • face-off
  • answer to
  • bag it
  • bag someone
  • bagged
  • bagging
  • going to
  • break out
References in periodicals archive
Ebb and Flow broke into smithereens upon impact and pinpointing the small craters they carved was difficult, said Arizona State University researcher Mark Robinson, who operates the orbiter's camera.
NASA moon craft spots Ebb and Flow crash sites
The spacecrafts Ebb and Flow completed their mission with a lunar impact on December 17 after 11.5 months.
Splendid Moon shots from Nasa's twin spacecrafts
After rocketing off the launch pad in September 2011, Ebb and Flow took a roundabout journey to the moon, arriving over the New Year's holiday on a gravity-mapping mission.
Moon crash site named after Sally Ride
Ebb and Flow were commanded to de-orbit and impact on the surface of the Moon, somewhere near the North Pole.
Two NASA spacecraft crash land on the Moon
"Ebb and Flow have removed a veil from the Moon and removing this veil will enable discoveries about the way the Moon formed and evolved for many years to come," said principal investigator Prof Maria Zuber from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US.
NASA's twin probes slam into lunar mountain
"Traffic is a part of our everyday lives an this shows the ebb and flow of the city."
Making an art of our traffic jams; New works show city's ebb and flow
a[euro]oeNegotiations always ebb and flow and right now theya[euro](tm)re in an ebb position,a[euro] Yahoo chief executive Carol Bartz told Yahooa[euro](tm)s Tech Ticker on Wednesday.
Microsoft alone for now as Yahoo search deal stalls
Chapter 9 outlines Ravitch's "ebb and flow" of principles, contrasting it with various tests used by the Supreme Court, describes areas where each principle should be given more or less weight.
Masters of Illusion: The Supreme Court and the Religion Clauses
Unmoored from the ebb and flow of the script, jostling one another side by side, the dances that were pure genius on Broadway lose their context and the emotional punch that they carry in the theater.
Riffing on Broadway: shows find new life as choreographers' inspiration
"Presumably, the dynamics can change rather quickly with the ebb and flow of events occurring far from home," he added.
Distant events impacting senior housing borrowing costs
The wily Odysseus sails inexorably home to Ithaca to the rhythmic ebb and flow of Robert Fagle's straightforward modern translation.
Homer. The odyssey
"This ebb and flow of work and jobs at the whim of accountants cannot, ultimately, benefit our economy nationally, let alone Ellesmere Port's."
Tony Blair's gamble making the UK
But due to distance and gravitational pulls, and the ebb and flow of the cosmos, and the invention of Tivo, and the multiverse and doppelgangers, and time travel--well--shit gets complicated.
Valient Thorr
But in all these works, a rivulet runs through it, a perpetual bathing and cleansing that signifies baptism and absolution, a gradual immersion in the ebb and flow of time and memory.
Bruce Nauman: Donald Young Gallery