tide over to supply someone until a certain time or until something happens. Will this amount tide us over until next week? There is enough food here to tide over the entire camp until next month. Yes, this will tide us over. See also: tide McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. tide somebody over also tide over somebody to supply someone with something they need for a short period We were lucky and got a small loan to tide us over until our customers began to pay us. They're seeking food aid to tide over the starving population until the next harvest.