I. ˈrīd verb
( rode ˈrōd ; or chiefly dialect rid ˈrid ; or rade ˈrād ; rid·den ˈrid ə n ; or chiefly dialect rid or rode ; riding ˈrīdiŋ ; rides )
Etymology: Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan to ride, travel, swing; akin to Old High German rītan to ride, Old Norse rītha to ride, travel, swing, Old Irish rīadaim I ride, travel, Gaulish rēda wagon
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to sit and be carried on the back of an animal (as a horse) that one directs and controls
b. : to participate in a raid or military or vigilante action of mounted men
c. : to travel or become conveyed by a vehicle (as a carriage, an automobile, or a railroad train) : become carried (as in a litter or on men's shoulders)
2. : to seem to move or become borne along by an intangible agency : become sustained, supported, or forwarded
rode on the wave of popularity
3. : to seem to float : float: as
a. : lie , rest
the squadron rode safely at anchor
b. : to sail, skim, or become driven over the water
the little boat rode lightly before a breeze
c. : to move like a floating object
a full moon rode in the night sky
4. : to become supported at rest or in motion on an axle, pivot, or other bearing point or surface
the lever carries two studs, both of which ride in the cam — William Landon & George Hafferkamp
5. of a male animal : to mount in copulation
6. : to travel over a surface
a big powerful car that rides smoothly and quietly
7. archaic : project
8. : to take its course : continue without interference
let it ride
9. : to be contingent : depend
his party's hopes seemed to ride on his renomination
10. : to climb up on the body : bunch up in folds or ridges
my skirt had ridden up above my knees, the way a tight skirt will — S.A.Offit
11.
a. : to become bet
his money is riding on the favorite
b. : to remain as a bet — used of an original bet or stake plus accumulated winnings
he let his winnings ride
12. : to improvise variations freely on a jazz theme
transitive verb
1.
a. : to sit and be carried on while directing and controlling
a jockey who had ridden many a winner
rode a bicycle daily to a ripe age
b. : to move with or be carried by like a rider
rode the waves with an experienced swimmer's ease
bad news rides the lightning — Irving Stone
2.
a. : to traverse (as a route or distance) on horseback or by vehicle
rode a mail route daily for years
abolishing the requirement that supreme court judges ride circuit — C.B.Swisher
rode hundreds of miles
b. : to ride a horse in
ride a winning race
3.
a. : to endure without great damage : survive , last
a large sailing vessel … riding the storm — Western Mail
— usually used with out
rode out the gale in safety — R.H.Dana
can ride out the current adjustment without having to make drastic price revisions — Newsweek
b. : to move with (something fluctuating or dangerous) so as to emerge unharmed : surmount , survive
ride an adverse situation
were now trying to ride the devastating postwar slump in agriculture — Roy Lewis & Angus Maude
4. : to traverse on horseback in order to inspect or maintain
ride fence
5. : to mount in or as if in copulation — used of a male animal
6.
a. : to burden or oppress as if by the weight of a rider : weigh down
only a man, ridden by anxiety and impotence, by desire and guilt — L.A.Fiedler
was ridden by a veritable devil — E.P.Hanson
b.
(1) : to harass persistently (as by carping criticism, ridicule, or abuse) : subject to pertinacious or concerted annoyance, irritation, or distress
the officers in that tropic outpost rode the artist mercilessly
(2) : tease , rib , banter
7.
a. : to convey like a rider : give a ride to
rode the youngster on his back
exposed him and rode him out of town on a rail
b. : to convey in a vehicle
rode a shipment of castings back to the plant in the truck on his return trip
c. archaic : to keep (a ship) anchored or moored
8. : to project over : overlap , override
9. : to urge (a racehorse) to the limit
10. : to aim too long at (a moving target) thereby losing coordination and proper lead and making a miss more likely
11. : to manipulate (a log drive) while standing on floating logs
12. : to recoil from or give with (a landing punch or blow) in order to soften the impact
13. : to legally charge (an opponent who has possession of the ball) in lacrosse
14. : to improvise variations on (a jazz theme) at will
Synonyms: see bait
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- ride a hobby
- ride and tie
- ride circuit
- ride for a fall
- ride herd on
- ride roughshod over
- ride rusty
- ride the brake
- ride the gain
- ride the line
- ride the marches
- ride the rods
- ride the vents
- ride to hounds
II. noun
( -s )
1. : an act of riding ; especially : a journey or trip on horseback or by vehicle
2. : mount
3. : a way (as a road or path) suitable for riding ; specifically : a lane in a forest
4. : any of various mechanical devices at an amusement park or carnival for riding on
5.
a. : a trip on which gangsters take a victim in order to murder him
this case has the earmarks of a ride — Jack Heise
— usually used in the phrase take for a ride
b. : going-over
has some confused ideas that the reviewer takes for a ride
c. : hoodwinking, swindling
do not want to be taken for a ride by foreign financiers who would take our money and let us whistle for repayment — Alvin Johnson
6. : any of various positions in which a wrestler is astride or above a prone opponent
7.
a. : a means of transportation
advertised for a daily ride to the city
b. : a person providing transportation
my ride said he would be late
8. : public interest or attention : notice
disk jockeys were giving the one-week-old recording a big ride — Newsweek
9. : the qualities of travel comfort provided by a vehicle
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- for the ride
III. noun
( -s )
Etymology: perhaps from ride (I)
chiefly dialect : the strap of a hinge
IV. verb
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- ride shotgun