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• rich
  rich

  adjective

  having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy.
• Rich
  Rich

  noun

  Adrienne, 1929–2012, U.S. poet and feminist.

rich

¹ American  

[rich] / rɪtʃ /

adjective

• richer,
  comparative
• richest
  superlative

1. having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy.

   a rich man;

   a rich nation.

   Synonyms:

   moneyed, well-to-do

   Antonyms:

   poor

2. abounding in natural resources.

   a rich territory.

   Antonyms:

   poor

3. having wealth or valuable resources (usually followed byin ).

   a country rich in traditions.

   Antonyms:

   poor

4. abounding (usually followed by in orwith ).

   a countryside rich in beauty;

   a design rich with colors.

   Antonyms:

   poor

5. of great value or worth; valuable.

   a rich collection of antique vases.

   Antonyms:

   poor

6. (of food) delectably and perhaps unhealthfully spicy, or sweet and abounding in butter or cream: a rich pastry.

   a rich gravy;

   a rich pastry.

7. costly, expensively elegant, or fine, as dress or jewels.

   Synonyms:

   dear, high-priced, precious

8. elaborately abundant; sumptuous.

   a rich feast.

9. using valuable materials or characterized by elaborate workmanship, as buildings or furniture.

10. abounding in desirable elements or qualities.

    a man rich in kindness.

11. (of wine) strong and finely flavored.

12. (of color) deep, strong, or vivid.

    rich purple.

    Synonyms:

    vibrant, intense

13. full and mellow in tone: a rich voice.

    rich sounds;

    a rich voice.

14. strongly fragrant; pungent.

    a rich odor.

    Synonyms:

    aromatic

15. producing or yielding abundantly.

    a rich soil.

    Synonyms:

    luxuriant, prolific, productive, fruitful

    Antonyms:

    poor

16. abundant, plentiful, or ample.

    a rich supply.

    Synonyms:

    bounteous, copious, bountiful

    Antonyms:

    poor

17. Automotive. (of a mixture in a fuel system) having a relatively high ratio of fuel to air (contrasted with lean).

18. Informal.

    1. highly amusing.

    2. ridiculous; absurd.

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noun

(used with a plural verb)

1. rich persons collectively.

   new tax shelters for the rich.

Rich ² American  

[rich] / rɪtʃ /

noun

1. Adrienne, 1929–2012, U.S. poet and feminist.

2. a male given name, form of Richard.

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rich ¹ British  

/ rɪtʃ /

adjective

1. 1. well supplied with wealth, property, etc; owning much

   2. ( as collective noun ; preceded by the )

      the rich

2. having an abundance of natural resources, minerals, etc

   a land rich in metals

3. producing abundantly; fertile

   rich soil

4. well supplied (with desirable qualities); abundant (in)

   a country rich with cultural interest

5. of great worth or quality; valuable

   a rich collection of antiques

6. luxuriant or prolific

   a rich growth of weeds

7. expensively elegant, elaborate, or fine; costly

   a rich display

8. (of food) having a large proportion of flavoursome or fatty ingredients, such as spices, butter, or cream

9. having a full-bodied flavour

   a rich ruby port

10. (of a smell) pungent or fragrant

11. (of colour) intense or vivid; deep

    a rich red

12. (of sound or a voice) full, mellow, or resonant

13. (of a fuel-air mixture) containing a relatively high proportion of fuel Compare weak

14. very amusing, laughable, or ridiculous

    a rich joke

    a rich situation

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noun

1. See riches

Rich ² British  

/ rɪtʃ /

noun

1. Adrienne. 1929–2012, US poet and feminist writer; her volumes of poetry include Snapshots of a Daughter-in-Law (1963) and Diving Into the Wreck (1973)

2. Buddy , real name Bernard Rich . 1917–87, US jazz drummer and band leader

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rich Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing rich

• embarrassment of riches
• from rags to riches
• strike it rich

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Synonym Usage

Rich, wealthy, affluent all indicate abundance of possessions. Rich is the general word; it may imply that possessions are newly acquired: an oilman who became rich overnight. Wealthy suggests permanence, stability, and appropriate surroundings: a wealthy banker. Affluent usually suggests a generous amount of income, with a high standard of living and some social prestige and privilege: an affluent family.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overrichness
  noun
• richness
  noun
• overrich
  adjective
• superrich
  adjective
• ultrarich
  adjective
• overrichly
  adverb
• richly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• richer
  comparative
• richest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of rich

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English rīce (adjective), ultimately from Celtic; cognate with German reich “wealthy”; akin to Latin rēx, Sanskrit rājan “king”

Explanation

The rich are the wealthy people in society. If you daydream of owning multi-billion dollar corporations and driving around in fancy cars, then you dream of being one of the rich. Rich is a cognate (meaning a word that sounds the same and means the same) with various of Germanic, Frisian, and Dutch words for "king." Now it tends to be an adjective meaning "abundant." That might be abundant money, as in your rich cousin Henry. A rich sauce is buttery and creamy and delicious. Rich land is fertile and abundant in crops. A rich idea has many possible applications. Rich coffee is full, dark and intense.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rich Rich richer richest

Once she worked her way up to owning three pairs, she felt rich.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

But ESPN, which the NFL now has a piece of, in the way rich people own a small stake in a clam hut on Martha’s Vineyard, is eager to tell you it has the game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

The buttermilk pancakes were wonderful, and I especially loved the steak and eggs, with a perfectly charred steak and rich orange-yolked eggs.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

One contributor ruled out taking the exam in Istanbul, saying "going there is for the rich who can afford flights".

From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026

More to the point, rich people were typically not invited to buy and sell esoteric securities, such as credit default swaps, not traded on open exchanges.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

“A lot of people went off and got degrees, especially overpriced degrees,” Joseph S. Moore, the author of a new book titled “How to Get Rich in American History,” told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026

Prep track guru Rich Gonzalez calls him “the best athlete in the state.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

"Their vision for robotic pizza making was really brilliant," says chief executive Rich Hull.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Rich Privorotsky, head of Delta One trading at Goldman Sachs, told clients in a desk note published Monday that this index had now fallen 40% since the end of June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026

There were no Rich Americans, no Dr. No. Everything that everyone had expected—everything that everyone had wanted—was missing.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day

Starring newcomers Dominic McLaughlin as Harry Potter, Alastair Stout as Ronald Weasley and Arabella Stanton as Hermione Granger, the series promises a richer, more detailed adaptation of the books, along with a more contemporary feel.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

According to the findings, bulk NbSe2 may contain three interacting superconducting orders, suggesting that superconductivity in these materials is richer than previously recognized.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 31, 2026

Douglas Belkin and Roshan Fernandez trace how the problems that have long buffeted the nation’s smaller schools are now spreading to bigger, richer universities—with midsize private schools such as Syracuse especially feeling the pinch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The series shows otherwise and, she argues, is the richer for being filmed in the Zulu language: "English doesn't carry the same cultural richness that our languages do."

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

Up on the rooftop, it was loud and clear, richer than I had ever heard it before.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

A hedge-fund billionaire and one of the UK's richest taxpayers has decided to leave the UK for Greece, the BBC understands.

From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026

Leonard, fresh off winning his second NBA title and Finals MVP, took the Clippers and Steve Ballmer — the NBA’s richest owner, worth $152 billion, per Forbes — for a ride.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Johannesburg -- reported to be the richest city in Africa -- was born from a gold rush in the 1880s.

From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026

The discoveries are also reinforcing the importance of the Lake Turkana region as one of the world's richest areas for studying human evolution.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

He was not as rich as the richest man in Holcomb—Mr. Taylor Jones, a neighboring rancher.

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• elegant
• expensive
• fertile
• full
• gorgeous
• lush
• plentiful
• smart
• splendid
• valuable