(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
If you feel a sense of ~, you feel happy because something unpleasant has not happened or is no longer happening.
I breathed a sigh of ~...
The news will come as a great ~ to the French authorities...
N-UNCOUNT: also a N
2.
If something provides ~ from pain or distress, it stops the pain or distress.
...a self-help programme which can give lasting ~ from the torment of hay fever.
N-UNCOUNT: oft N from n
3.
Relief is money, food, or clothing that is provided for people who are very poor, or who have been affected by war or a natural disaster.
Relief agencies are stepping up efforts to provide food, shelter and agricultural equipment.
N-UNCOUNT: oft N n, n N
4.
A ~ worker is someone who does your work when you go home, or who is employed to do it instead of you when you are sick.
No ~ drivers were available.
N-COUNT: usu N n
5.
see also bas-~ , tax ~