Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Relating to or affected by tides.
  • adjective Dependent on or scheduled by the time of high tide.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to a tide or the tides; subject to or characterized by a periodical rise and fall or ebb and flow: as, a tidal river; tidal waters; a tidal basin.
  • Dependent on the tides: as, a tidal steamer (that is, a steamer the hour of whose departure is regulated by the state of the tide); tidal trains (that is, trains that run in connection with tidal steamers).
  • Figuratively, a wide-spread or general manifestation of strong feeling or sentiment: as, a tidal wave of popular indignation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Of or pertaining to tides; caused by tides; having tides; periodically rising and falling, or following and ebbing.
  • adjective (Physiol.) the air which passes in and out of the lungs in ordinary breathing. It varies from twenty to thirty cubic inches.
  • adjective a dock that is filled at the rising of the tide.
  • adjective A vast, swift wave caused by an earthquake or some extraordinary combination of natural causes. It rises far above high-water mark and is often very destructive upon low-lying coasts.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective relating to tides

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or caused by tides

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From tide +‎ -al

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Examples

  • A sea-bred boy would not have stayed a day on Earraid; which is only what they call a tidal islet; and except in the bottom of the neaps, can be entered and left twice in every twenty-four hours, either dry-shod, or at the most by wading.

    Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 6 Charles Herbert Sylvester

  • A sea-bred boy would not have stayed a day on Earraid, which is only what they call a tidal islet, and, except, in the bottom of the neaps, can be entered and left twice in every twenty-four hours, either dry-shod, or, at the most, by wading.

    The Ontario High School Reader A.E. Marty

  • A sea-bred boy would not have stayed a day on Earraid; which is only what they call a tidal islet, and except in the bottom of the neaps, can be entered and left twice in every twenty-four hours, either dry-shod, or at the most by wading.

    Kidnapped: The Adventures of David Balfour 1886

  • A sea-bred boy would not have stayed a day on Earraid; which is only what they call a tidal islet, and except in the bottom of the neaps, can be entered and left twice in every twenty-four hours, either dry-shod, or at the most by wading.

    Kidnapped Robert Louis Stevenson 1872

  • Rep. Paul Ryan, standing, briefs fellow House Republicans on what he calls the "tidal wave" of debt the country faces.

    CNN.com 2011

  • Tidal heating can too, for what they call "tidal Venuses."

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2012

  • Tidal heating can too, for what they call "tidal Venuses."

    msnbc.com: Top msnbc.com headlines 2012

  • WASHINGTON (AFP) - The White House stepped up attacks Sunday on what it described as a tidal wave of secret outside money pouring into Republican campaign ads ahead of November 2

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2010

  • This project has the potential to travel to destinations that are further removed from the sea to inspire and kindle the imagination, and bring the sea to people who might not have ever experienced the marvel of exploring the thriving biodiversity found in tidal waters.

    Tide Pool Project: Call for Entries 2010

  • But as long as they are caught in tidal waters, no license is required.

    Should MA Make Striped Bass A Protected Game Fish? 2010

Comments

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  • It sounds as though it might also be used as a singular noun. 'That river is tidal for many miles.'

    October 31, 2011