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rid. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
rid, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
rid in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
rid you have here. The definition of the word
rid will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
rid, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Etymology 1
Fusion of Middle English redden (“to deliver from, rid, clear”) (from Old English hreddan (“to deliver, rescue, free from, take away”), from Proto-West Germanic *hraddjan, from Proto-Germanic *hradjaną (“to save, deliver”)) and Middle English ridden (“to clear away, remove obstructions”) (from Old English ġeryddan (“to clear land”), from Proto-Germanic *riudijaną (“to clear”), from Proto-Indo-European *rewdʰ- (“to clear land”).
Akin to Old Frisian hredda (“to save”), Dutch redden (“to save, deliver”), German retten (“to save, deliver”), roden (“to clear”) and reuten (“to clear”), Old Norse ryðja (“to clear, empty”), Old Norse hrōðja (“to clear, strip”). More at redd.
Adjective
rid (not comparable) (not used attributively)
- Released from an obligation, problem, etc. (usually followed by of).
I’m glad to be rid of that stupid nickname.
Translations
Verb
rid (third-person singular simple present rids, present participle ridding, simple past rid or ridded, past participle rid or ridded or (rare, nonstandard) ridden)
- (transitive) To free (something) from a hindrance or annoyance.
- Synonyms: deliver, disencumber
We're trying to rid the world of poverty.
- 1170, King Henry II (offhand remark)
- Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?
1964 May, “News and Comment: Minister hamstrings BR workshops”, in Modern Railways, page 291:If the Government believes that part of the railways' salvation is to be found in ridding them of extraneous concerns, it should have had the courage either to close the railway works down as quickly as possible, or to hive them off as an entirely separate concern, [...].
- (transitive, chiefly obsolete) To banish.
2008, John H. Goodwin, The Reluctant Spy, page 293:Worst of all were the leeches. The soldiers had managed to rid them from the camp interiors, but once you ventured out on patrol and into the wetlands, they were everywhere.
- (transitive, obsolete) To kill.
Derived terms
Translations
to free from a hindrance or annoyance
Etymology 2
Verb
rid
- (obsolete or nonstandard) simple past and past participle of ride
1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “I Go on the Vigo Bay Expedition, Taste Salt Water and Smell Powder”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. , volume II, London: Smith, Elder, & Company, , →OCLC, page 96:He rid to the end of the village, where he alighted and ſent a man thence to Mr. Tuſher with a meſſage that a gentleman of London would ſpeak to him on urgent buſineſs.
1930, William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, Library of America, published 1985, page 67:"He would have rid that horse, too," pa says, "if I hadn't a stopped him. A durn spotted critter wilder than a catty-mount. A deliberate flouting of her and me."
References
Anagrams
Danish
Pronunciation
Verb
rid
- imperative of ride
Maltese
Pronunciation
Verb
rid
- second-person singular imperative of ried
Norwegian Bokmål
Verb
rid
- imperative of ride
Norwegian Nynorsk
Etymology 1
Verb
rid
- present tense of ride
- imperative of ride
Etymology 2
From Old Norse hríð.
Noun
rid f (definite singular rida or ridi, indefinite plural rider, definite plural ridene)
- (pre-1938) alternative form of ri
Romanian
Etymology
Borrowed from French ride.
Pronunciation
Noun
rid n (plural riduri)
- wrinkle, furrow, crease, line (on face)
Declension
Further reading
Swedish
Pronunciation
Verb
rid
- imperative of rida