spring tide

noun

1. the large rise and fall of the tide at or soon after the new or the full moon.
2. any great flood or swelling rush:

   a spring tide of compliments.

spring tide

noun

1. either of the two tides that occur at or just after new moon and full moon when the tide-generating force of the sun acts in the same direction as that of the moon, reinforcing it and causing the greatest rise and fall in tidal level. The highest spring tides ( equinoctial springs ) occur at the equinoxes Compare neap tide
2. any great rush or flood

spring tide

1. A tide in which the difference between high and low tide is the greatest. Spring tides occur when the Moon is either new or full, and the Sun, the Moon, and the Earth are aligned. When this is the case, their collective gravitational pull on the Earth's water is strengthened.
2. Compare neap tideSee more at tide

Word History and Origins

Origin of spring tide¹

First recorded in 1520–30

Example Sentences

During the highest spring tide, a water layer between 5 and 10 centimeters thick flowed as far as 12 kilometers inland.

From Science Magazine

As a spring tide rushed out of Baltimore harbor just after midnight on Tuesday, the hulking outlines of a cargo ship nearly three football fields long and stacked high with thousands of containers sliced through frigid waters toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge.

From New York Times

When the new or full moon coincides with or is close to perigee, usually six to eight times a year, the result is a perigean spring tide, or what is popularly called a king tide.

From Los Angeles Times

It said the erosion was due to the spring tide that had led to fallen power lines, and left cars stranded on The Marrams, which runs parallel to the cliff.

From BBC

Just up the coast in Norfolk, the spring tide also led to the collapse of a road at the erosion-hit village of Hemsby,

From BBC