ebb

/ɛb/

//ɛb// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"ebb" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“ebb” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #27,442) as a noun. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#27,442
frequency rank, English
2,246
“E” headwords
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The receding movement of the tide.

Corpus desk

Index EN-ebb · ebb · English

ebb · rank #27,442 · 0 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,442
  • LEN-MID 3 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,246
  • PHOTO-FINISH earths

Nearest frequency peer: earths (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbours of confusable “ebb”

Peers at similar corpus weight, separate from look-alike pairs below

corpus weight

What this shows Bars place “ebb” against nearest ranked English headwords, not a reprint of the confusable-pair desk.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

ebb vs ex
33% similar
ebb vs ed
33% similar
ebb vs et
33% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for ebb
PropertyValue
Headwordebb
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɛb/
Letters3
Frequency rank#27,442
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Corpus rank beside confusables of “ebb”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).ebblands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “earths” (#27,441), “ECB” (#27,443), “dumbledore” (#27,440). Among 2,246 “E” headwords, “ebb” is #27,442. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for ebb is neighbouring look-alikes ("ex", "ed", …), not just typos; it is anoun pronounced /ɛb/. Frequency #27,442 among 2,246 “E” headwords. 4 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

ebb doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "ex", "ed", "et", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-West Germanic *abbjā, from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abjǭ, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. See also West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Danish… The correct English form is ebb, spelled E-B-B.

Definition

  1. 1
    The receding movement of the tide.
  2. 2
    A gradual decline.
  3. 3
    A low state; a state of depression.
  4. 4
    A European bunting, the corn bunting (Emberiza calandra, syns. Emberiza miliaria, Milaria calandra).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how ebb appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The boats will go out on the ebb.
  2. Thou shoreless flood which in thy ebb and flow / Claspest the limits of morality!

Etymology

From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-West Germanic *abbjā, from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abjǭ, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. See also West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Ebbe, Danish ebbe, Old Norse efja (“countercurrent”), Old English af. More at of, off.

Antonyms

floodflow

This word in other languages

reflujo(Español)reflux(Français)Ebbe(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "ebb"?
"ebb" is spelled E-B-B. The IPA pronunciation is /ɛb/.
What does "ebb" mean?
As a noun, "ebb" means: The receding movement of the tide.
What words are commonly confused with "ebb"?
"ebb" is commonly confused with "ex", "ed", "et". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "ebb"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "ebb" is /ɛb/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "ebb"?
From Middle English ebbe, from Old English ebba (“ebb, tide”), from Proto-West Germanic *abbjā, from Proto-Germanic *abjô, *abjǭ, from Proto-Germanic *ab (“off, away”), from Proto-Indo-European *apó. See also West Frisian ebbe, Dutch eb, German Eb... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "ebb", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 3 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ECB#27,443fas#27,454GNU#27,477cob#27,404

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list