tide over — help (someone) through a difficult period
phrasal verbC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
to give someone what they need (often money, food, or support) to help them manage until things improve or until they get what they really need.
Say it like a native
Textbook This loan will sustain me until my salary is paid.
Native This should tide me over till payday.
'Tide over' is the idiomatic 'keep someone going until things improve'.
Pattern: tide (someone) over (until/until + time/event)
In use
- My parents lent me some money to tide me over until I got paid.money
- If I lost my job, I think my savings would be enough to tide me over for a few months while I look for something new.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ Can you lend me £20 to tide over me?
✓ Can you lend me £20 to tide me over?
The person goes in the middle: 'tide me over'.
Common collocations
tide over + person— me over, you over, till payday, until then
Don't confuse it
'Tide over' is different from the literal meaning of 'tide' (the movement of the sea). This sense is figurative and always involves someone helping another person through a temporary difficulty.