ride

Less common meanings

10. 10
    depend onverbintransitive

    To depend or hinge on something for one's outcome.

    The company's future rides on this product launch.

    Millions of dollars ride on the outcome of the trial.

    UsageUsed with on: a lot rides on the result. Often with so much riding on it.

    Similardepend, hinge, rest, hang

    Note

    The Economist used it in 2006: "With so much riding on the new payments system." The verb itself carries the tension. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The Economist published the cited usage in 2006. en.wiktionary.org
    • The quoted words occur at the beginning of the cited sentence. en.wiktionary.org
11. 11
    verbcolloquialtransitive

    To harass, criticize, or pressure someone persistently, especially by bossing them around.

    The coach rode the rookies hard during training camp.

    Her colleagues ride her about her messy desk.

    UsageOften ride someone hard, or ride someone about something.

    Similarhound, nag, badger, harass, pester

12. 12
    drive someoneverbcolloquialSouth AfricaUStransitive

    To carry someone as a passenger in a vehicle.

    She rides her coworkers home when their shifts end late.

    I'll ride you to the airport tomorrow morning.

    UsageOther speakers say give someone a ride or drive them.

    Similardrive, take

    Note

    A causative use heard in informal American and South African English. The passenger becomes the object, as in "The cab rode him downtown."

13. 13
    carry (horse)verbintransitive

    Of a horse: to carry a rider and move while being saddled.

    The gelding rides well for nervous beginners.

    The old gelding is calm and will ride smoothly, so we put beginners on him.

    UsageUsually with a word of manner: a horse rides well or rides smoothly.

    Note

    Here the horse becomes the subject and the rider vanishes from the sentence, much as a car is said to handle well. It describes how a mount feels under the saddle in general, not one particular outing.

14. 14
    verbintransitive

    Of clothing, to sit on the body in a particular way, or to move out of place, especially to work upward and bunch up.

    These socks always ride down into my shoes.

    His jacket rides up at the back whenever he sits down.

    UsageUsually ride up or ride down: a jacket rides up at the back.

    Similarcreep, slip

15. 15
    verbslangtransitive or intransitive

    (vulgar slang) To have sex with someone, especially while on top of them.

    She rode him slowly, taking her time in the dark.

    He lay back and let her ride him.

    Similarmount

    Note

    The rider here is whoever is on top: the partner astride is the subject, the one beneath the object. It works with or without that object (she rode him; she rode slowly), and it belongs to slang, from Linda Howard's Son of the Morning (1997) to Noire's Thug-A-Licious (2006). It often names a position, not just the act. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Linda Howard's Son of the Morning contains this sexual use of ride. en.wiktionary.org
    • Son of the Morning was first published in 1997. simonandschuster.com
    • Noire's Thug-A-Licious contains this sexual use of ride. en.wiktionary.org
    • Thug-A-Licious was first published in 2006. penguinrandomhouse.com
16. 16
    casual sexnounslangvulgarcountable

    A single act of sexual intercourse.

    She wanted a real relationship, not just a ride whenever he was bored.

    He bragged to his friends that he'd had a quick ride with a girl he met at the club.

    UsageGive someone a ride usually means providing transport, but it can also have this sexual meaning. Context tells you which.

    Similarfuck, shag, bang

17. 17
    cymbalnounabbreviationellipsis

    Short form of ride cymbal: the large cymbal a drummer strikes to keep a steady, ongoing rhythmic pattern.

    He tapped a steady pattern on the ride while the bass walked underneath.

    A bright, washy ride gave the track its shimmer.

    UsageDrummers play a pattern on the ride.

    Note

    The drummer's shorthand: ride cymbal clipped to its first word. The cymbal it names is the one whose job is to keep a steady rhythmic pattern going. The jazz verb, playing in a steady rhythm, points at the same work. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • The cymbal noun ride is a shortened form of ride cymbal. en.wiktionary.org
    • A ride cymbal serves to maintain a steady rhythmic pattern. en.wiktionary.org
18. 18
    attractive personnounIrelandcountable

    A person (or sometimes a thing or place) regarded as strikingly attractive to look at.

    Half the office thought the new intern was an absolute ride.

    Her new boyfriend is a total ride, and he's sweet too.

    UsageOften with an intensifier: an absolute ride, a total ride.

    Similarstunner, looker

    Note

    Irish English praise for good looks, said mostly of people and sometimes of a place or a thing. Read alongside the sexual verb, the compliment is plainly about desirability.

19. 19
    forest pathnounUKcountable

    A road or avenue cut through woodland for riding; a bridleway or wide country path.

    We cantered down a long ride between the beech trees.

    The estate's rides were kept clear for hunting and hacking.

    Similarbridleway, track, path

    Note

    A countryside word in British use: the cleared avenue through a wood, wide enough for horses. Roderic Jeffries's Death in the Coverts (1966) has a character who "carried on down the ride." Readers outside Britain may take the word for a trip or a fairground attraction, so context has to do the work. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

    • The bibliography dates the novel to 1966, so 2015 cannot be its first-publication year. A first-edition title page was not accessible. fr.wikipedia.org
20. 20
    verbdated

    In jazz, to play in a steady, rhythmically driving style.

    The quintet in Propheticape muses out-of-measured-time until Holland leads it into swift, riding jazz.

    2000, Max Harrison, Charles Fox
21. 21
    noundated

    In jazz, a steady rhythmical groove or feel.
22. 22
    verb

    To continuously monitor and adjust a component of an audiovisual signal to keep it within acceptable limits.
23. 23
    verb

    Of bones or fractured fragments, to overlap one another.
24. 24
    verb

    In lacrosse, to play defense as an attackman, pressuring the opposing defensemen or midfielders to prevent them clearing the ball.
25. 25
    nounarchaicUK

    A horse kept for riding rather than for pulling loads.

    Stella, who in her day was a beautiful ride.

    1904, Country Gentleman
26. 26
    noun

    The territory a tax inspector on horseback covered when checking goods subject to excise.
27. 27
    noun

    In typesetting, a defect that occurs when the metal spacing strips between lines overlap.