/ rɪtʃ; NAmE / adjective
( rich·er , rich·est )
WITH A LOT OF MONEY
1.
having a lot of money or property :
one of the richest women in the world
Nobody gets rich from writing nowadays.
( slang )
to be filthy / stinking (= extremely) rich
OPP poor
2.
the rich noun [ pl. ] people who have a lot of money or property :
It's a favourite resort for the rich and famous.
OPP the poor
3.
( of a country ) producing a lot of wealth so that many of its people can live at a high standard :
the richest countries / economies / nations
OPP poor
FULL OF VARIETY
4.
very interesting and full of variety :
the region's rich history and culture
She leads a rich and varied life.
CONTAINING / PROVIDING STH
5.
rich (in sth) (often in compounds) containing or providing a large supply of sth :
Oranges are rich in vitamin C.
The area is rich in wildlife.
His novels are a rich source of material for the movie industry.
iron-rich rocks
OPP poor
FOOD
6.
containing a lot of fat, butter, eggs, etc. and making you feel full quickly :
a rich creamy sauce
a rich chocolate cake
SOIL
7.
containing the substances that make it good for growing plants in
SYN fertile :
a rich well-drained soil
OPP poor
COLOURS / SOUNDS
8.
( of colours, sounds, smells and tastes ) strong or deep; very beautiful or pleasing :
rich dark reds
EXPENSIVE
9.
( literary ) expensive and beautiful
SYN sumptuous :
The rooms were decorated with rich fabrics.
CRITICISM
10.
( informal , especially BrE ) used to say that a criticism sb makes is surprising and not reasonable, because they have the same fault :
Me? Lazy? That's rich, coming from you!
—compare richness
•
IDIOMS
see strike verb
••
SYNONYMS
rich
wealthy ♦ prosperous ♦ affluent ♦ well off ♦ comfortable
These words all describe sb/sth that has a lot of money, property or valuable possessions.
rich
(of a person) having a lot of money, property or valuable possessions; (of a country or city) producing a lot of wealth so that many of its people can live at a high standard
wealthy
rich
rich or wealthy?
There is no real difference in meaning between these two words. Both are very frequent, but rich is more frequent and occurs in some fixed phrases where wealthy cannot: He's stinking / filthy wealthy. • It's a favourite resort for the wealthy and famous.
prosperous
( rather formal ) rich and successful.
affluent
( rather formal ) rich and with a good standard of living:
affluent Western countries
prosperous or affluent?
Both prosperous and affluent are used to talk about people and places. Prosperous is used much more than affluent to talk about times and periods. Affluent is often used to contrast rich people or societies with poor ones. Being prosperous is nearly always seen as a good thing:
It's good to see you looking so prosperous.
• It's good to see you looking so affluent.
well off
(often used in negative sentences) rich:
His family is not very well off.
NOTE
The opposite of well off is badly off , but this is not very frequent; it is more common to say that sb is not well off .
comfortable
having enough money to buy what you want without worrying about the cost:
They're not millionaires, but they're certainly very comfortable.
PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS :
to become / grow / make sb rich / wealthy / prosperous
to get rich
a(n) rich / wealthy / prosperous / affluent / well-off / comfortable man / woman / family
a(n) rich / wealthy / prosperous / affluent country / city
exceedingly / extremely / incredibly / very rich / wealthy / prosperous / affluent / well off / comfortable
seriously rich / wealthy
comparatively / fairly / quite / reasonably / relatively rich / wealthy / prosperous / affluent / well off / comfortable
••
WORD ORIGIN
Old English rīce powerful, wealthy , of Germanic origin, related to Dutch rijk and German reich ; ultimately from Celtic ; reinforced in Middle English by Old French riche rich, powerful.