undertow
verb, noun
Forms undertows undertowing undertowed
- verb (transitive) To pull or tow under; drag beneath; pull down.
- verb (transitive) To pull down by, or as by, an undertow.
- verb (intransitive) To flow or behave as an undertow.
- noun A short-range flow of water returning seaward from the waves breaking on the shore. “A strong undertow may sweep a returning swimmer off their feet but it does not carry them far from the shore.”
- noun (by extension) A feeling that runs contrary to one's normal one.
Synonyms
Etymology
From under- + tow.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “undertow”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details