WordWeb Online

1. An overwhelming manifestation of some emotion or phenomenon
   "a tidal wave of nausea"; "the flood of letters hit him with the force of a tidal wave"; "a tidal wave of crime"
    
2. An unusual (and often destructive) rise of water along the seashore caused by a storm or a combination of wind and high tide
    
3. A wave resulting from the periodic flow of the tides that is caused by the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun

Derived forms: tidal waves

Type of: calamity, cataclysm, catastrophe, disaster, manifestation, moving ridge, tragedy, wave

Encyclopedia: Tidal wave