relief

Pluralreliefs (some meanings)

1. 1
   easing painnoununcountable

   The removal or easing of stress, pain, or discomfort.

   Like opening a window to let stuffy air escape a hot room.

   The cream provides temporary relief from itching and swelling.

   Stretching brings noticeable relief to a stiff back.

   UsageUsually relief from something (from pain, from itching); things bring or give relief to what hurts.

   Similarease, comfort, release, respite, solace

   Note

   The easing sense, and the older line of the word: Old French relief, from relever, from Latin relevare, "to raise up, make light." To relieve is to lighten a load, which is why the noun pairs naturally with from: relief from pain, from itching, from worry. Respite is a pause in the burden. Relief is the weight actually lifted, whether for an hour or for good. Source

   Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Relief derives from Old French relief, from relever, from Latin relevare, meaning “to raise up, make light.” en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   glad feelingnouncountable or uncountable

   The pleasant feeling that comes when stress, pain, or worry is removed.

   Like the long breath you let out once a danger has passed.

   Relief flooded through the crowd when the missing child was found safe.

   She sighed with relief once the plane finally landed.

   UsageCommon phrases: with relief, to my relief, What a relief! and it's a relief to hear or know.

   Note

   Where the easing itself is what happens, this is what it feels like. Mostly a mass noun: greeted with great relief, sighed with relief. With an article it names one particular instance of the feeling, as when the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897) has "a palpable relief." Adjectives tend to say how strong the feeling was (great, enormous) or how plainly it showed (palpable, visible).

3. 3
   help in neednoununcountable

   Aid or assistance given to people during a time of need, such as after a disaster.

   Like a lifeline thrown to someone struggling in the water.

   International relief poured into the region after the earthquake.

   The charity coordinates relief for refugees crossing the border.

   UsageOften before another noun: relief work, relief efforts, and after one: disaster relief, famine relief.

   Similaraid, assistance, help, support

4. 4
   court remedynouncountable or uncountable

   A remedy or assistance sought from or granted by a court, such as damages, an injunction, or a declaration of rights.

   The plaintiff sought relief in the form of damages and an injunction.

   The court denied relief, finding no legal basis for the claim.

   UsageA party seeks relief; a court grants or denies it.

   Similarredress, remedy, compensation

   Note

   The remedy may be money damages, an injunction, a declaratory judgment or another redress fitted to the wrong. Relief is the umbrella term, and those remedies are its kinds.

5. 5
   raised carvingnouncountable or uncountable

   A form of sculpture in which shapes or figures stand out from a flat background, or a work made this way.

   Like the raised picture on a wax seal pressed into an envelope.

   A carved relief above the doorway showed a hunting scene.

   Ancient craftsmen filled the tomb walls with painted reliefs.

   UsageFor the technique, say carved in relief; one finished work is a relief, as in a bronze relief.

   Note

   The works are graded by how far the forms project, from shallow bas-relief through mid-relief to high relief. Embossing is a near synonym, though it suggests a raised pattern pressed into metal or paper more than carved stone.

6. 6
   replacement workernouncountable

   A person who takes over a shift or duty so that another can be released.

   Like a substitute stepping onto the field so a tired player can rest.

   Her relief showed up ten minutes late for the morning shift.

   The watchman handed the keys to his relief and went home.

   UsageUsually with a possessive: his relief arrived. Before another noun it marks a replacement: a relief crew, a relief driver.

   Similarsubstitute, stand-in, fill-in

   Note

   A shift word that works happily as a modifier: a relief crew, a relief locomotive, as Modern Railways put it in 1963. Stand-in and substitute cover any replacement. This word belongs to rotas, watches and crews.

7. 7
   land shapenouncountable or uncountable

   The differences in height across a surface, such as the hills and valleys of a landscape.

   Like a crumpled blanket, with peaks and dips across its surface.

   Cartographers shade the map to reveal the relief of the valley.

   The plateau shows little relief, stretching flat for miles.

   Similartopography

   Oppositeflatness

   Note

   Geographers' relief is measured height: the rise and fall of hills, valleys and plateaus that a shaded map shows and topography describes. The literal meaning shades into the figurative in "thrown into clear relief," which Railway Magazine used in 1947 for dark rails standing out against snow. That is a physical edge made visible by contrast, which is exactly where the sense of distinctness begins. Source

   Checked 7 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Geographical relief concerns differences in elevation across a landscape. en.wikipedia.org
   • Shaded maps depict variations in elevation. earthquake.usgs.gov
   • Topography describes landforms and surface features. en.wikipedia.org
   • Railway Magazine used 'thrown into clear relief' in 1947 about tracks contrasting with snow. Wiktionary identifies a photograph caption in the January–February issue, page 29. en.wiktionary.org
8. 8
   tax cutnouncountable or uncountable

   A reduction in the amount of tax owed, granted through special legal provisions.

   Like a coupon that shaves money off the final bill.

   Pension contributions qualify for relief that lowers a worker's taxable income.

   Lawmakers introduced tax relief for small businesses hit hardest by the downturn.

   UsageUsually in tax relief; people get or qualify for relief.

   Similardeduction, exemption, allowance, concession

9. 9
   release from dutynouncountable or uncountable

   The act of freeing someone from a shift, watch, or duty, usually by having another person take over their place.

   Like the bell that signals the end of a long duty.

   The soldiers at the front longed for relief after weeks in the trenches.

   After his injury, the captain asked for relief from command, and a younger officer took over the ship.

   Similarrelease

10. 10
    ending a siegenouncountable or uncountable

    Military assistance sent to break a siege or free forces surrounded by an enemy.

    The garrison resisted for weeks until relief reached the walls at dawn.

    The relief of the besieged city took three months of hard fighting.

    Similarrescue, reinforcements, backup

    Note

    Siege warfare gives the word its most dramatic use. Here relief is not the changing of a guard but a force arriving from outside to lift a blockade. The classic construction names the place that is freed: the relief of the garrison, the relief of the city. As a modifier it marks the troops sent to do it, as in a relief column or a relief force.

Showing meanings only. Show all 16