stem the tide

Meaning

This expression means to stop or contain the growth, spread, or increase of something undesirable. It uses the metaphor of stopping a rising ocean tide to describe taking control of a deteriorating situation.

Examples

• The company raised interest rates to stem the tide of inflation.

  The company raised interest rates to stem the tide of inflation.

• Emergency budget cuts were introduced to stem the tide of mounting losses.

  Emergency budget cuts were introduced to stem the tide of mounting losses.

• Management is trying to stem the tide of employees leaving for competitors.

  Management is trying to stem the tide of employees leaving for competitors.

• New security protocols were implemented to stem the tide of cyberattacks.

  New security protocols were implemented to stem the tide of cyberattacks.

• We must act quickly to stem the tide of negative reviews before our brand is ruined.

  We must act quickly to stem the tide of negative reviews before our brand is ruined.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ We need to stop the tide of rising costs.

  ✓ We need to stem the tide of rising costs.

  While 'stop' is grammatically correct, 'stem the tide' is the established idiomatic collocation used in professional English.

• ✗ The new policy helped to stem down the tide of resignations.

  ✓ The new policy helped to stem the tide of resignations.

  The verb 'stem' in this idiom does not take the preposition 'down'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• The central bank intervened to ___ of currency depreciation.

  💡 Stop the worsening trend.

  Show answer

  stem the tide

• Public relations worked overtime to ___ of bad press.

  💡 Contain the spread of something bad.

  Show answer

  stem the tide