DictionaryAI

riding

RY-ding/ˈɹaɪ.dɪŋ/

Noun pluralridings

7 meanings of riding

Practice

  1. 1
    verb
    Present participle and gerund of ride. Use this form for the ongoing -ing action of ride.

    She is riding her bike to school right now.

    Riding makes him feel calm and happy.

    Note
  2. 2
    nouncountable or uncountable
    The activity of riding a horse, or a trip you take on one.

    Like going for a walk, but on the back of a horse.

    Riding is fun, but you should always wear a helmet.

    The morning riding took us across three open fields.

    Similarride

    Note
  3. 3
    nounCanadacountable
    An area whose voters elect one person to a government body.

    Like a neighborhood that picks one person to speak for it in the government.

    Each riding sends one representative to parliament.

    Voters in her riding chose a new candidate this year.

    Similarconstituency, district

    Note
  4. 4
    nouncountable or uncountable
    A track or path cut through a wood or forest.

    Like a hallway, but made of open space between the trees.

    We followed the grassy riding deep into the forest.

    A narrow riding led from the road down to the lake.

    Similartrack, path, bridleway

    Note
  5. 5
    nouncountable or uncountable
    How smooth or rough a vehicle feels when it moves.

    Like the difference between a smooth boat trip and a bouncy one.

    The riding of the old truck was rough on bumpy roads.

    New tires gave the bus a much smoother riding.

    Similarhandling

    Note
  6. 6
    nounhistoricalcountable or uncountable
    A procession held as part of a festival or celebration.

    Like a parade through the streets on a special day.

    The whole town turned out to watch the summer riding.

    Each guild marched in the riding through the old streets.

    Similarprocession, parade, cavalcade

    Note
  7. 7
    nounhistoricalcountable
    One of the three areas that an English county like Yorkshire was split into.

    Like cutting a large pie into three pieces, each with its own name.

    Her family farmed in the North Riding for many generations.

    The county was once split into three ridings.

    Note

riding is a form of ride

ride, verb: To sit on and control a horse, bike, or similar as it moves, including crossing an area, carrying things, or racing. Full entry

Forms
riderides he/she/itriding -ing formrode past tenseridden past participle
Spelling
ride → riding: drop the e, add -ing

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of riding apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–6

From Middle English rydyng, made from the verb ride plus -ing.

Meanings 3, 7

From an old word meaning "third part." It comes from Old Norse þriðjungr, meaning a third, and the first sound was lost after words like north and south. It is not really about how far a horse could ride in a day.