tidemark

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a line on a shore or structure showing the highest or lowest level reached by a tide

   A dark tidemark on the harbor wall showed how high the storm surge had risen.

2. 2
   noun

   a line of seaweed, debris, or differently colored material left by the tide

   Shells and driftwood formed a tidemark across the beach.

3. 3
   noun

   a visible trace or boundary left by an earlier level of activity or liquid

   The empty reservoir retained a pale tidemark around its concrete sides.

A transparent compound of tide + mark, originally a mark showing the limit reached by tidal water. The word later broadened to other lines or traces left by a former liquid level or activity.

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