ride
verb (used without object)
to sit on and manage a horse or other animal in motion; be carried on the back of an animal.
ride
1 American
[rahyd]
/ raɪd /
verb (used without object)
-
rides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rode,
past
-
rid,
past (Archaic)
-
ridden,
past participle
-
riding
present participle
-
to sit on and manage a horse or other animal in motion; be carried on the back of an animal.
-
to be borne along on or in a vehicle or other kind of conveyance.
-
to move or float on the water.
the surfboarders riding on the crests of the waves.
-
to move along in any way; be carried or supported.
He is riding along on his friend's success. Distress is riding among the people.
-
to have a specified character for riding purposes.
The car rides smoothly.
-
to be conditioned; depend (usually followed byon ).
All his hopes are riding on getting that promotion.
-
Informal. to continue without interruption or interference.
He decided to let the bet ride.
-
to be carried on something, as a litter, a person's shoulders, or the like.
-
to work or move up from the proper place or position (usually followed byup ).
Her skirt rode up above her knees.
-
to extend or project over something, as the edge of one thing over the edge of another thing.
-
to turn or rest on something.
the great globe of the world riding on its axis.
-
to appear to float in space, as a heavenly body.
A blood-red moon rode in the cloudless sky.
-
to lie at anchor, as a ship.
verb (used with object)
-
rides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rode,
past
-
rid,
past (Archaic)
-
ridden,
past participle
-
riding
present participle
-
to sit on and manage (a horse, bicycle, etc.) so as to be carried along.
-
to sit or move along on (something); be carried or borne along on.
The ship rode the waves. We ride a bus.
-
to ride over, along, or through (a road, boundary, region, etc.); traverse.
-
to ridicule or harass persistently.
The boys keep riding him about his poor grades.
-
to control, dominate, or tyrannize over.
a man ridden by fear; a country that is ridden by a power-mad dictator.
-
to cause to ride.
-
to carry (a person) on something as if on a horse.
He rode the child about on his back.
-
to execute by riding.
to ride a race.
-
to rest on, especially by overlapping.
-
to keep (a vessel) at anchor or moored.
-
Jazz. to play improvisations on (a melody).
noun
-
rides
plural
-
a journey or excursion on a horse, camel, etc., or on or in a vehicle.
-
a means of or arrangement for transportation by motor vehicle.
We'll handle rides to be sure everyone gets home quickly.
-
the vehicle used for transportation.
I've got to hang up now—my ride's here.
-
a vehicle or device, as a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, or merry-go-round, on which people ride for amusement.
-
a way, road, etc., made especially for riding.
verb phrase
idioms
-
ride herd on. herd.
-
ride for a fall, to conduct oneself so as to invite misfortune or injury.
-
ride the beam, to fly along the course indicated by a radio beam.
-
take for a ride,
-
to murder, especially by abducting the victim for that purpose.
-
to deceive; trick.
It was obvious to everyone but me that I was being taken for a ride.
-
-
ride down,
-
to trample or overturn by riding upon or against.
-
to ride up to; overtake; capture.
The posse rode down the escaping bank robber.
-
Nautical. to bear down upon (a rope of a tackle) with all one's weight.
-
-
ride shotgun. shotgun.
Ride
2
American
[rahyd]
/ raɪd /
noun
ride
British
/ raɪd /
verb
-
to sit on and control the movements of (a horse or other animal)
-
(tr) to sit on and propel (a bicycle or similar vehicle)
-
(intr; often foll by on or in) to be carried along or travel on or in a vehicle
she rides to work on the bus
-
(tr) to travel over or traverse
they rode the countryside in search of shelter
-
(tr) to take part in by riding
to ride a race
-
to travel through or be carried across (sea, sky, etc)
the small boat rode the waves
the moon was riding high
-
(tr) to cause to be carried
to ride someone out of town
-
(intr) to be supported as if floating
the candidate rode to victory on his new policies
-
(intr) (of a vessel) to lie at anchor
-
(tr) (of a vessel) to be attached to (an anchor)
-
(esp of a bone) to overlap or lie over (another structure or part)
-
informal
-
(intr) to drive a car
-
(tr) to transport (goods, farm produce, etc) by motor vehicle or cart
-
-
(tr) (of a male animal) to copulate with; mount
-
slang (tr) to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
-
(tr; usually passive) to tyrannize over or dominate
ridden by fear
-
informal (tr) to persecute, esp by constant or petty criticism
don't ride me so hard over my failure
-
informal (intr) to continue undisturbed
I wanted to change something, but let it ride
-
(tr) to endure successfully; ride out
-
(tr) to yield slightly to (a blow or punch) in order to lessen its impact
-
(of a bet) to remain placed
let your winnings ride on the same number
-
(intr) jazz to play well, esp in freely improvising at perfect tempo
-
to domineer over or act with complete disregard for
-
to take part in a fox hunt on horseback
-
to act in such a way as to invite disaster
-
informal to return to a former activity or scene of activity
-
confident, popular, and successful
noun
-
a journey or outing on horseback or in a vehicle
-
a path specially made for riding on horseback
-
transport in a vehicle, esp when given freely to a pedestrian; lift
can you give me a ride to the station?
-
a device or structure, such as a roller coaster at a fairground, in which people ride for pleasure or entertainment
-
slang an act of sexual intercourse
-
slang a partner in sexual intercourse
-
informal
-
to cheat, swindle, or deceive
-
to take (someone) away in a car and murder him
-
ride
More Idioms
Usage
What is a basic definition of ride? Ride is a verb that means to sit on the back of a moving animal or to travel in or on a vehicle, like a car. A ride is a journey made on an animal or using a vehicle. Ride has many other senses as a verb and a noun. When someone rides an animal, they are usually sitting on the animal’s back while it moves. In general, the word ride is used even if the animal is uncooperative or is trying to get rid of the person sitting on them. The person sitting on the animal is called a rider. Its past tenses are rode and ridden.
- Real-life examples: Horses are the most common animal that people ride. Cowboys attempt to ride angry bulls at rodeos. In many Asian countries, people ride camels.
- Used in a sentence: I like to ride horses with my mom.
- Real-life examples: People ride bikes, motorcycles, and skateboards. Airplanes, submarines, boats, cars, trains, buses, and subway cars are vehicles that people ride in.
- Used in a sentence: Grant rides the subway to get to work.
- Real-life examples: Petting zoos often offer pony rides to children. A trip from Tokyo to Berlin would be a long ride, no matter what kind of vehicle you used. People who are afraid of heights probably won’t be fans of airplane rides.
-
Used in a sentence: My college years were a wild ride.
Synonym Usage
See drive.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ridesimple
-
ridessimple
-
have riddenperfect
-
has riddenperfect
-
am ridingprogressive
-
are ridingprogressive
-
is ridingprogressive
-
have been ridingperfect progressive
-
has been ridingperfect progressive
Past
-
ridsimple
-
rodesimple
-
had riddenperfect
-
was ridingprogressive
-
were ridingprogressive
-
had been ridingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ride
First recorded before 900; 1915–20 ride for def. 17; Middle English riden (verb), Old English rīdan; cognate with Old Frisian rīda, German reiten, Old Norse rītha; akin to Old Irish ríad “journey” ( cf. palfrey, rheda)
Explanation
To ride is to be carried in a car, on a bike, or on an animal. When you ride a horse for the first time, it's often surprising how far off the ground you are. You can ride in the back of a taxi or on a Ferris wheel at the fair. You can also ride — and control — a pony or a bicycle. As a noun, ride means "a trip in a vehicle," or a roller coaster or other amusement park entertainment. In the U.S., ride has also been an informal name for a car since about 1930: "Check out my new ride!"
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:
"Everyone can ride scooters and the boys over there play football which is very fun", he says excitedly.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Last week my wife and I took what was supposed to be a short ride in a Waymo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
He next found himself taking detours to cover new streets in Northeast Los Angeles as he’d ride to and from Koreatown Run Club meet-ups at Los Angeles Community College.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
But because Erle wasn’t getting a free ride and he didn’t want to take on student-loan debt, he had to work.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
We’re the town you ride through and pray to God you never need to stop in.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
Beside it is the pale blue flight jacket of Sally Ride, a physicist who in 1983 became the first American woman in space.
From Barron's ● May 29, 2026
The pitch: Ride out nuclear war, the next pandemic or societal collapse in relative comfort.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
The boy was traveling at around 35 mph on a black E Ride Pro electric motorcycle when he struck the median and lost control of the vehicle, according to authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
Ride, its follow-up, is a darker dose of disco, punctuated with cracking whips and the thundering footfall of wild horses.
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
Vonetta wanted to ride JimmyTrotter’s bike, and he said, “It’s yours while you’re here. Ride it all you want.”
From "Gone Crazy in Alabama" by Rita Williams-Garcia
Gross bookings, which track the value of all rides and deliveries, grew 24% to $58 billion.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
He had been inspired to take on the challenge after losing a cousin to MND and had raised almost A$300,000 on his previous rides.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
Metro has estimated that 1 million more rides per day will be taken, more than doubling ridership.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
At the fair ground, bumper cars and other rides remained covered in their protective plastic sheets.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
We’d had fun the whole day, riding the rides, laughing, and talking.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
"They have boyfriend problems and other problems. Sometimes they don't turn up on time and it's hard to get rid of them if they're unreliable," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
“If a robot’s getting in the way and not helping us deliver a great guest experience, we’re going to get rid of them,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
This year, Walter’s investment firm rid itself of all shares in GEO Group, which runs immigrant detention centers on behalf of the federal government.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
When will we be rid of this pestilence?
From Slate ● Jul. 17, 2026
The sooner he got rid of Gingersnipes and reclaimed his position, the better.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Back then, Supreme Court justices “rode circuit”—they literally rode horses or traveled by carriage to hear cases within the circuit they oversaw.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
He drove a big truck, rode a good horse, and removed his hat when he introduced himself.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
He rode the bus for hours, back and forth in front of OpenAI looking at every face—but he couldn’t find Kirchner.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
In 1972, ordinary Californians circulated petitions, knocked on doors, and rode bicycles down the coast, rallying support for Proposition 20, which aimed to regulate coastal development.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
“Last February he rode a seabull across the Straits of Semper, in a storm, to rescue a unicorn foal who had been swept out to sea,” said Warren.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
Innolight has ridden the AI tailwind as every AI cluster needs thousands—or even hundreds of thousands—of optical transceivers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Bloom Energy has indeed ridden on the coattails of AI excitement and investors’ quests for companies positioned to benefit from powering data centers.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Outside of the trials, they can't be insured, and thus can only legally be ridden on private land, with the owner's permission.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
E-bikes can go faster than traditional bikes and are often ridden by children and teenagers who may not have the experience to handle the speed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
A messenger on horseback had ridden ahead to announce to the White House staff that the president had been shot and was on his way.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Infineon shares have gained nearly 70% since January, riding a wave of investor fervor that propelled global semiconductor stocks to new highs on expectations that appetite for chips will continue to outpace supply.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
After riding the Mitochondria, he decided to keep going — making a path up each street and block — until he was satisfied.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
Anton said he naturally became great friends with their kids Gethin and Charlotte spending their time playing outside, riding bikes and enjoying their time together.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
“This isn’t a biking area,” he insisted, noting that he sees more people riding bikes and scooters on sidewalks than in the lanes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
When he looked ahead in the darkness and saw that other dogs were pulling while he was riding on the sled he went mad.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
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.
