turn the tide

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

reverse the direction of a developing situation from negative to positive, especially when change seemed difficult or impossible; achieve a decisive shift in the momentum of events, moving from deterioration to improvement or from defeat to recovery; derived from the movement of tidal waters which cannot be stopped but which reverse direction at predictable intervals; in environmental discourse the phrase expresses hope that coordinated human action can reverse the trajectory of ecological decline, climate change, or biodiversity loss before irreversible tipping points are crossed