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)
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rides,
present (3rd person singular)
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rode,
past
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rid,
past (Archaic)
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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.
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to be borne along on or in a vehicle or other kind of conveyance.
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to move or float on the water.
the surfboarders riding on the crests of the waves.
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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.
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to have a specified character for riding purposes.
The car rides smoothly.
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to be conditioned; depend (usually followed byon ).
All his hopes are riding on getting that promotion.
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Informal. to continue without interruption or interference.
He decided to let the bet ride.
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to be carried on something, as a litter, a person's shoulders, or the like.
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to work or move up from the proper place or position (usually followed byup ).
Her skirt rode up above her knees.
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to extend or project over something, as the edge of one thing over the edge of another thing.
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to turn or rest on something.
the great globe of the world riding on its axis.
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to appear to float in space, as a heavenly body.
A blood-red moon rode in the cloudless sky.
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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.
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to sit or move along on (something); be carried or borne along on.
The ship rode the waves. We ride a bus.
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to ride over, along, or through (a road, boundary, region, etc.); traverse.
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to ridicule or harass persistently.
The boys keep riding him about his poor grades.
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to control, dominate, or tyrannize over.
a man ridden by fear; a country that is ridden by a power-mad dictator.
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to cause to ride.
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to carry (a person) on something as if on a horse.
He rode the child about on his back.
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to execute by riding.
to ride a race.
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to rest on, especially by overlapping.
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to keep (a vessel) at anchor or moored.
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Jazz. to play improvisations on (a melody).
noun
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rides
plural
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a journey or excursion on a horse, camel, etc., or on or in a vehicle.
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a means of or arrangement for transportation by motor vehicle.
We'll handle rides to be sure everyone gets home quickly.
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the vehicle used for transportation.
I've got to hang up now—my ride's here.
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a vehicle or device, as a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, or merry-go-round, on which people ride for amusement.
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a way, road, etc., made especially for riding.
verb phrase
idioms
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ride herd on. herd.
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ride for a fall, to conduct oneself so as to invite misfortune or injury.
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ride the beam, to fly along the course indicated by a radio beam.
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take for a ride,
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to murder, especially by abducting the victim for that purpose.
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to deceive; trick.
It was obvious to everyone but me that I was being taken for a ride.
-
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ride down,
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to trample or overturn by riding upon or against.
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to ride up to; overtake; capture.
The posse rode down the escaping bank robber.
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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)
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(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
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(tr) to travel over or traverse
they rode the countryside in search of shelter
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(tr) to take part in by riding
to ride a race
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to travel through or be carried across (sea, sky, etc)
the small boat rode the waves
the moon was riding high
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(tr) to cause to be carried
to ride someone out of town
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(intr) to be supported as if floating
the candidate rode to victory on his new policies
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(intr) (of a vessel) to lie at anchor
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(tr) (of a vessel) to be attached to (an anchor)
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(esp of a bone) to overlap or lie over (another structure or part)
-
informal
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(intr) to drive a car
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(tr) to transport (goods, farm produce, etc) by motor vehicle or cart
-
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(tr) (of a male animal) to copulate with; mount
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slang (tr) to have sexual intercourse with (someone)
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(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
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informal (intr) to continue undisturbed
I wanted to change something, but let it ride
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(tr) to endure successfully; ride out
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(tr) to yield slightly to (a blow or punch) in order to lessen its impact
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(of a bet) to remain placed
let your winnings ride on the same number
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(intr) jazz to play well, esp in freely improvising at perfect tempo
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to domineer over or act with complete disregard for
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to take part in a fox hunt on horseback
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to act in such a way as to invite disaster
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informal to return to a former activity or scene of activity
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confident, popular, and successful
noun
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a journey or outing on horseback or in a vehicle
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a path specially made for riding on horseback
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transport in a vehicle, esp when given freely to a pedestrian; lift
can you give me a ride to the station?
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a device or structure, such as a roller coaster at a fairground, in which people ride for pleasure or entertainment
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slang an act of sexual intercourse
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slang a partner in sexual intercourse
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informal
-
to cheat, swindle, or deceive
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to take (someone) away in a car and murder him
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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.
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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
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ridesimple
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ridessimple
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have riddenperfect
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has riddenperfect
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am ridingprogressive
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are ridingprogressive
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is ridingprogressive
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have been ridingperfect progressive
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has been ridingperfect progressive
Past
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ridsimple
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rodesimple
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had riddenperfect
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was ridingprogressive
-
were ridingprogressive
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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:
Behind nondescript exteriors in Virginia’s “Data Center Alley,” some employees log up to 30,000 steps a day while others ride scooters down echoey hallways and sniff for overheating equipment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026
The Sunday reception was held a roughly 10-minute boat ride away on a neighboring private island, rented out by Kremlev.
From Salon ● Sep. 19, 2026
The more money you have, the more you can afford to ride out stock-market turmoil.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
E-scooters are also popular - despite it currently being illegal to ride them on public roads or pavements except in certain rental zones.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
“My parents didn’t show me how to ride a bike,” he said.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
This was just the kind of mass trek we’ve always assiduously avoided, the Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
While the torque-vectoring/locking rear differential and Active Ride system come standard with the Turbo, both are available as options on the S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026
The Ride for Rori saw them cycling non-stop from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to Marble Arch in London.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
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
Sally Ride became the first American woman astronaut thirty years ago.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
Tesla began offering paid rides this month for customers in the vehicle as part of its fleet of robotaxis operating in Austin, Texas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
He shadowboxes with ostriches and brings in celebrities like Rick Ross and Naomi Campbell for IBA events; he praises Stalin and rides private jets.
From Salon ● Sep. 14, 2026
The cabs kept passing him to pick up younger riders just metres away who were using smartphone apps to hail their rides.
From Barron's ● Sep. 14, 2026
Slovenian Roglic, who rides for Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe, overtook Felix Gall in the standings after the Austrian came home in 25th position, 1:36 slower than his podium rival.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
As for Marlene, she plodded on through the snow as if she had been giving rides all her life.
From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo
Cardiff is one of these and Lee Young, who lives in the city, has been trying to get rid of his broken fridge-freezer for two months.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It is a pretty stiff penalty. You’ve got a problem, just pay it off and get rid of it,” Durbin said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 14, 2026
Anecdotal evidence gathered by clinicians and fire departments has shown promising signs that it could be used to rid firefighters of some of the cancer-causing chemicals they absorb during fires.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“I’ve got great reservations and deep doubts about the effect of the new plan to get rid of all parking and choke traffic down to one lane,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Handsome Johnny Rosselli, another of the many people who tried and failed to get rid of Castro, agreed to testify before a Senate committee in 1975.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
So they ran routes in the frontyard or shot hoops in the driveway or rode bikes in the neighborhood, anything to stave off the inevitable draw of mindless videos on YouTube.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The picture above was taken by a man who posted on social media about "morons on electric bikes" scaring a nearby horse, external as they rode illegally on public footpaths.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
He also broke horses and rode bucking broncos in ranch rodeos.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
On the day I rode with my dad past the White House for the first time, about 10 percent of all Americans lived below the poverty level.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Lines of old corn stubble planted in some earlier year rode the eroding rises.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
In line with the sometimes defiant sense of local "Ossie pride", Siegmund has often ridden the iconic local Simson bike, including to the polling booth Sunday in his hometown of Tangermuende.
From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026
Older Americans have ridden decades of gains in stocks and real estate, while many younger people are stuck in rentals, struggling with the soaring cost of child care and the burden of student debt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
A Class 2 e-bike can also be ridden by all ages, but those bicycles also include a throttle along pedal assist, and max out at a speed of 20 mph.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The species, Acanthosaura syrax, takes its name from Syrax, the dragon ridden by Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in House of the Dragon.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
In the space of a moment, he had accepted our claim to ride him, to his being ridden.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
But now the question is: What if nobody comes riding to the rescue this time around?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
But her big passion was for horses, with her Instagram showing the young woman proudly riding or training them.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
For the second year in a row, Noah Wyle is riding off into the sunset with an Emmy for lead actor in a drama series for HBO Max’s “The Pitt.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
While the sun is blazing overhead, I keep the sat phone tucked in my back pocket and play the role of carefree traveler, riding jauntily around in Land Rovers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
It was like I was riding in a big parade, but I was the only attraction that day.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
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.
