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Synonyms

riding

1 American  
[rahy-ding] / ˈraɪ dɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that rides.

adjective

  1. used in traveling or in riding.

    riding clothes.
riding 2 American  
[rahy-ding] / ˈraɪ dɪŋ /

noun

  1. any of the three administrative divisions into which Yorkshire, England, is divided, namely, North Riding, East Riding, and West Riding.

  2. any similar administrative division elsewhere.

Riding 3 American  
[rahy-ding] / ˈraɪ dɪŋ /

noun

  1. Laura, 1901–91, U.S. poet, novelist, and critic.

riding 1 British  
/ ˈraɪdɪŋ /

noun

    1. the art or practice of horsemanship

    2. ( as modifier )

      a riding school

      riding techniques
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
riding 2 British  
/ ˈraɪdɪŋ /

noun

  1. (capital when part of a name) any of the three former administrative divisions of Yorkshire: North Riding, East Riding and West Riding

  2. (in Canada) a parliamentary constituency

  3. (in New Zealand) a rural electorate for local government

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of riding1

before 1000; Middle English (noun, adj.); Old English rīdende (adj.). See ride, -ing 1, -ing 2

Origin of riding2

1250–1300; Middle English triding, Old English *thriding < Old Norse thridjungr third part; t- (of ME), variant of th- (of OE), lost by assimilation to -t in east, west, which commonly preceded

Explanation

Use the word riding for the sport of maneuvering a horse while sitting on its back. So when your friend invites you to go riding, you'd better be prepared to climb up into a saddle. You can also call this sport horseback riding, or if you want to get really fancy, equestrianism. Riding involves, of course, staying perched on the back of a horse while it trots, canters, or gallops along. There are a lot of additional variations on riding, including horse racing, rodeo events, and dressage, which involves dance-like movements that are judged on how athletic and graceful the horse is and how relaxed the rider appears.

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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.

“A few years back, you couldn’t get 17-1 with Shoemaker if he was riding Mr. Ed.”

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

King lives in Manhattan Beach, where celebrities and pro athletes can be seen walking or riding bikes on any given day.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2026

It isn’t just Oracle, a 49-year-old database and software company, that has a lot riding on its transformation into an AI computing provider.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

Queen Elizabeth II's easy relationship with Ronald Reagan seemed to be summed up in pictures of them riding together in 1982.

From BBC • Apr. 24, 2026

Mother and others who are riding on donkeys must step down and cajole the donkeys to keep moving, and it’s almost impossible to maneuver the carts.

From "Across So Many Seas" by Ruth Behar

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.