- past tense form of ride.
rid
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to clear, disencumber, or free of something objectionable (usually followed byof ).
I want to rid the house of mice. In my opinion, you'd be wise to rid yourself of the smoking habit.
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to relieve or disembarrass (usually followed byof ).
to rid the mind of doubt.
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Archaic. to deliver or rescue.
to rid them out of bondage; to rid him from his enemies.
idioms
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be rid of, to be free of or no longer encumbered by.
to be rid of obligations.
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get rid of, to eliminate or discard.
It's time we got rid of this trash.
verb
verb
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(foll by of) to relieve or deliver from something disagreeable or undesirable; make free (of)
to rid a house of mice
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to relieve or free oneself of (something or someone unpleasant or undesirable)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of rid
1150–1200; Middle English ridden (v.), Old English ( ge ) ryddan to clear (land); cognate with Old Norse rythja to clear, empty
Explanation
When you clear out or eliminate something you don't want, you rid yourself of it. If even one child is allergic to peanuts, a school will often rid the cafeteria of all food made with peanuts. For years, activists have worked to rid the world of nuclear weapons, while a dieter's priority might be to rid himself of ten extra pounds. Freeing someone from something unwanted is to rid them of it, whether it's ants in their kitchen or stress about their job. In the thirteenth century, rid meant "clear a space, set free, or save," from a Scandinavian root that's related to the Old Norse ryðja, "to clear land of obstructions."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“Maybe I’m too much of an optimist, but I hopefully believe that people will see the consequences of AI and not necessarily get rid of it, but work toward making it better,” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
There’s an industry of professionals who may be able to help you decide which items to get rid of and where they might go.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
The complainant said she deleted "I love you" texts exchanged with Hayler after he allegedly told her to get rid of them.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Next week we’ll ask, “In response to the ‘Cornell 7’ case, some suggest entirely getting rid of sororities and fraternities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
She seemed happy to be rid of me, and once the train finally stopped moving, she threw me a quick nod and marched out the depot doors to take care of her detective work.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
You will appreciate the richer flavor and be happy to have finally ridded yourself of those unattractive scrambled-egg bits of white that invariably dot your final product when whole eggs are used in your recipe.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2024
"My wife and I both had a really ridded our house as much as possible of single-use plastic," he says.
From Fox News ● Dec. 20, 2021
That may irk some users who thought they’d ridded themselves of the algorithm for good.
From Slate ● Dec. 18, 2018
In my youth it was the best part of the year down south because the great breaks could be ridded early and late in the day with few others around.
From Time Magazine Archive
There, old girl, I've ridded you of that nuisance.
From Mrs. Thompson A Novel by W. B. (William Babington) Maxwell
After ridding your garden of visible ash, you might wonder how to tell if your plants will still thrive in the soil.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
So, what if ridding your home of plastic helped you finally get your partner pregnant?
From Slate ● Apr. 16, 2026
"So, we are now colonizing that central space, and the bacterium is essentially ridding the body of the tumor."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 24, 2026
We ought to be careful about ridding ourselves of all boredom, lest we lose our creativity in the process.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
Nervous to the point of nausea before addressing an audience, Churchill consulted specialists as a young man in the hopes of ridding himself of his speech defects.
From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
