# rich

Pronunciation: say "RICH" /ɹɪt͡ʃ/

## Adjective

1. Having a great deal of money and valuable possessions.
   - Simple: Having lots of money and valuable things.
   - _The merchant grew rich trading silk along the coast._
   - _Only the richest investors could afford a stake in the venture._
2. Containing or supplying a great deal of something valuable or desirable; abundant, or full and fulfilling.
   - Simple: Having a lot of something good.
   - _The region offers a rich variety of wildlife for researchers to study._
   - _He led a rich and meaningful life devoted to teaching._
3. Having an intense flavor from a high fat or sugar content.
   - Simple: Having a strong, heavy taste from lots of fat or sugar.
   - _The pastry chef prepared a rich custard layered with dark chocolate._
   - _Diners praised the rich, buttery sauce ladled over the lamb._
5. Strong, deep, and vivid rather than faint or delicate.
   - Simple: Strong and deep, not light or weak.
   - _The singer's rich baritone filled the concert hall._
   - _By October the hillside had turned rich shades of gold and red._
6. Made of valuable, costly materials; sumptuous and precious.
   - Simple: Made of costly, valuable materials.
   - _The cathedral's rich furnishings reflected centuries of donations._
   - _For the coronation, the queen wore a rich robe of velvet trimmed with gold thread and pearls._
7. Producing large yields; fertile and highly productive.
   - Simple: Able to grow many crops or produce a lot.
   - _The delta's rich farmland has fed the city for centuries._
   - _Prospectors raced to stake the richest mining claims along the river._
9. Absurd or hypocritical to the point of being galling, especially when voiced by someone equally at fault. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Annoyingly ridiculous, especially when someone criticizes others for something they do too.
   - _That's rich, hearing a lecture on honesty from a known cheat._
   - _His demand for punctuality is rich given his own constant tardiness._
8. Having complex formatting, multimedia content, or depth of interaction.
   - Simple: Full of extra features like images, sound, or things you can click.
   - _The platform delivers a rich interface with embedded video and clickable menus._
   - _Modern email clients render rich messages containing images, fonts, and links._
10. Highly amusing or entertaining. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Very funny and entertaining.
   - _His story about the goat that ate the wedding cake was rich, and the whole table roared._
   - _Her impression of the pompous headmaster was a rich bit of comedy that left the whole staff room in stitches._
11. Producing a good income or substantial profit; financially rewarding.
   - Simple: Bringing in a large amount of money or profit.
   - _The franchise proved a rich venture, returning steady profits year after year._
   - _Investors chased the rich returns promised by the booming market._
12. Of a solution or mixture, containing a high proportion of a particular substance, as a fuel-air mix with extra fuel.
   - Simple: Of a liquid or mixture, having a lot of one thing in it, like a fuel mix with too much fuel.
   - _On cold mornings the old truck needs a rich mixture, heavy on fuel, before it will start._
   - _Pilots lean the mixture as they climb, since a mixture that stays too rich wastes fuel._

## Noun

4. The wealthy members of a society, considered collectively as a class.
   - Simple: People who have a lot of money, thought of as one group.
   - _Throughout history, the rich have wielded outsized political power._
   - _The new policy widened the gap between the rich and the poor._

## Verb

13. To become rich; to grow wealthy. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To become rich, or to grow wealthy over time.
14. To make rich; to enrich. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To make a person or place rich by adding wealth or value.

## Other meanings

- (adjective) Trading at a price that is high compared with past levels, a similar asset, or a theoretical value.
- (adjective) Sexually explicit or titillating; pornographic.

## Origin

Old English rīċe ("powerful, mighty, wealthy") became Middle English riche ("strong, powerful, rich"). Behind it lie Proto-Germanic roots meaning "kingly, powerful, rich" and, further back, "king, ruler." That root was an early borrowing from Proto-Celtic, which in turn goes back to Proto-Indo-European. Old French riche, which came from the same Germanic source, reinforced the word.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/rich (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).