tidal

adjective

tid·​al ˈtī-dᵊl 

1

a

: of, relating to, caused by, or having tides

tidal cycles

tidal erosion

b

: periodically rising and falling or flowing and ebbing

tidal waters

2

: dependent (as to the time of arrival or departure) upon the state of the tide

a tidal steamer

tidally

ˈtī-dᵊl-ē 

adverb

Examples of tidal in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The new bridge also will be higher than the present one, to avoid sea-level rise, with less of a footprint in the water to impede tidal flows in the lagoon. —Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 May 2024

The team will keep cataloguing tidal disruption events, with the goal of figuring out the spin distribution of supermassive black holes. —Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 23 May 2024

The Galilean moons stay geologically active through a mechanism known as tidal heating. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 May 2024

Some are sandy coves, washed out of the schist coastline by the English Channel, while others are tidal, emerging along estuary creeks and river valleys. —Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 3 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1807, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing tidal

• tidal wave

Kids Definition

tidal

adjective

tid·​al ˈtīd-ᵊl 

: of or relating to tides : rising and falling or flowing and ebbing at regular times

Medical Definition

tidal

adjective

tid·​al ˈtīd-ᵊl 

: of, relating to, or constituting tidal air

interference with the normal tidal exchange of the lungs

—F. R. Mautz & R. M. Hosler