# ride

Pronunciation: say "RYD" /ɹaɪd/

## Verb

1. To sit on and control a horse, bicycle, motorcycle, or similar as it moves, including crossing an area, carrying people or goods, or taking part in a race.
   - Simple: To sit on and control a horse, bike, or similar as it moves, including crossing an area, carrying things, or racing.
   - _They ride horses along the beach every weekend._
   - _He rides his motorcycle to work in all kinds of weather._
3. To travel in a vehicle as a passenger rather than the driver.
   - Simple: To travel inside a car, bus, or train as a passenger.
   - _Commuters ride the train into the city each day._
   - _I prefer to ride up front when I'm not the one driving._
8. To exploit or make the most of a favorable situation.
   - Simple: To use a good situation as much as you can while it lasts.
   - _The band rode their early success to a major record deal._
   - _Companies often ride a popular fad before it fades away._
9. To float or be carried along on something such as water, waves, or air currents, as a ship on the sea or a bird on the wind.
   - Simple: To float or be carried along on water, waves, or moving air, like a boat on the sea.
   - _Gulls ride the rising air currents along the cliffs._
   - _Dandelion seeds rode the breeze across the meadow and into our garden._
10. To depend or hinge on something for one's outcome.
   - Simple: To depend on something for success, the way a bet depends on the result.
   - _The company's future rides on this product launch._
   - _Millions of dollars ride on the outcome of the trial._
11. To harass, criticize, or pressure someone persistently, especially by bossing them around. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To keep criticizing, pushing, or bossing someone in an annoying way.
   - _The coach rode the rookies hard during training camp._
   - _Her colleagues ride her about her messy desk._
12. To carry someone as a passenger in a vehicle. *(colloquial, South Africa, US)*
   - Simple: To take someone somewhere in a car or other vehicle.
   - _She rides her coworkers home when their shifts end late._
   - _I'll ride you to the airport tomorrow morning._
13. Of a horse: to carry a rider and move while being saddled.
   - Simple: To carry a person on its back and move along under the saddle, used about a horse.
   - _The gelding rides well for nervous beginners._
   - _The old gelding is calm and will ride smoothly, so we put beginners on him._
14. Of clothing, to sit on the body in a particular way, or to move out of place, especially to work upward and bunch up.
   - Simple: Of clothes, to sit a certain way on the body or slowly move out of place, often upward.
   - _These socks always ride down into my shoes._
   - _His jacket rides up at the back whenever he sits down._
15. (vulgar slang) To have sex with someone, especially while on top of them. *(slang)*
   - Simple: (rude slang) To have sex with someone.
   - _She rode him slowly, taking her time in the dark._
   - _He lay back and let her ride him._

## Noun

2. A single trip taken on an animal, on a bicycle, or in a vehicle.
   - Simple: A trip on a horse, on a bike, or in a vehicle.
   - _The ride to the coast took about two hours._
   - _She enjoyed a quiet morning ride before breakfast._
4. A machine or attraction at a fair or amusement park that people sit in or on for enjoyment.
   - Simple: A machine at a fair that you sit in or on for fun, like a roller coaster.
   - _The new roller coaster is the most popular ride in the park._
   - _They closed several rides during the thunderstorm._
5. A trip given to someone as a passenger in another person's vehicle.
   - Simple: A free trip given to someone in another person's car or vehicle.
   - _He hitched a ride with a passing truck driver._
   - _When my car wouldn't start, a coworker offered me a ride to the office and even waited while I grabbed coffee._
6. An experience or course of events of a particular kind, often wild or unpredictable, as in a rough ride or an easy ride.
   - Simple: An experience or period of time of a certain kind, such as rough, easy, or wild.
   - _The campaign turned into a chaotic ride no one expected._
   - _Raising teenagers can be quite a ride._
7. A vehicle, especially a car that someone owns or drives. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A car or other vehicle that a person owns or drives.
   - _She pulled up in a flashy ride that turned heads._
   - _That's a sweet ride you've got there._
16. A single act of sexual intercourse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A single act of having sex.
   - _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._
17. Short form of ride cymbal: the large cymbal a drummer strikes to keep a steady, ongoing rhythmic pattern. — Ellipsis of ride cymbal.
   - Simple: Short form of ride cymbal: a big cymbal a drummer hits again and again to keep the beat.
   - _He tapped a steady pattern on the ride while the bass walked underneath._
   - _A bright, washy ride gave the track its shimmer._
18. A person (or sometimes a thing or place) regarded as strikingly attractive to look at. *(Ireland)*
   - Simple: A very good-looking person, thing, or place.
   - _Half the office thought the new intern was an absolute ride._
   - _Her new boyfriend is a total ride, and he's sweet too._
19. A road or avenue cut through woodland for riding; a bridleway or wide country path. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A wide path cut through a wood for riding horses or walking.
   - _We cantered down a long ride between the beech trees._
   - _The estate's rides were kept clear for hunting and hacking._

## Other meanings

- (verb) In jazz, to play in a steady, rhythmically driving style.
- (noun) In jazz, a steady rhythmical groove or feel.
- (verb) To continuously monitor and adjust a component of an audiovisual signal to keep it within acceptable limits.
- (verb) Of bones or fractured fragments, to overlap one another.
- (verb) In lacrosse, to play defense as an attackman, pressuring the opposing defensemen or midfielders to prevent them clearing the ball.
- (noun) A horse kept for riding rather than for pulling loads.
- (noun) The territory a tax inspector on horseback covered when checking goods subject to excise.
- (noun) In typesetting, a defect that occurs when the metal spacing strips between lines overlap.

## Origin

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots. It is related to Dutch rijden, German reiten, Danish ride, and Swedish rida, all meaning 'to ride'.

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