ride

verb

\ ˈrīd

rode\ ˈrōd

\ or chiefly dialectal rid\ ˈrid

\; ridden\ ˈri-dᵊn

\ or chiefly dialectal rid or rode; riding\ ˈrī-diŋ

Definition of ride

(Entry 1 of 3)

intransitive verb

1a : to sit and travel on the back of an animal that one directs

b : to travel in or on a conveyance

2 : to travel as if on a conveyance : be borne rode on a wave of popularity

3a : to lie moored or anchored a ship rides at anchor

b : sail

c : to move like a floating object the moon rode in the sky

4 : to become supported on a point or surface

5a : to travel over a surface the car rides well

b : to move on the body shorts that ride up

6 : to continue without interference let it ride

7a : to be contingent : depend plans on which the future rides

b : to become bet a lot of money riding on the favorite

transitive verb

1a : to travel on ride a bike ride the bus

b : to move with like a rider ride the waves

2a : to traverse by conveyance rode 500 miles

b : to ride a horse in ride a race

3 : survive, outlast —usually used with out rode out the gale

4 : to traverse on horseback to inspect or maintain ride fence

5 : to mount in copulation —used of a male animal

6a : obsess, oppress ridden by anxiety

b : to harass persistently : nag

c : tease, rib

7 : carry, convey

8 : to project over : overlap

9 : to give with (a punch) to soften the impact

10 : to keep in partial engagement by resting a foot continuously on the pedal ride the brakes

ride circuit

: to hold court in the various towns of a judicial circuit

ride for a fall

: to court disaster

ride herd on

: to keep a check on : supervise

ride high

: to experience success

ride shotgun

: to ride in the front passenger seat of a vehicle

ride

noun

Definition of ride (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : an act of riding especially : a trip on horseback or by vehicle

2 : a way (such as a road or path) suitable for riding

3 : any of various mechanical devices (as at an amusement park) for riding on

4a : a trip on which gangsters take a victim to murder him

b : something likened to such a trip take the taxpayers for a ride

5 : a means of transportation especially, informal : one's personal vehicle … buying himself a 1964 Buick Riviera and then posing with his new ride on the studio's backlot. — Andrew Liszewski

6 : the qualities of travel comfort in a vehicle

Ride

biographical name

\ ˈrīd

Definition of Ride (Entry 3 of 3)

Sally Kristen 1951–2012 American astronaut

Other Words from ride Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ride

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Synonyms for ride

Synonyms: Verb

bait, hassle, haze, heckle, needle, taunt, tease

Synonyms: Noun

lift, transportation

Examples of ride in a Sentence

Verb

She learned how to ride a horse when she was young. Most children learn to ride a bicycle at an early age. He rides his motorcycle to work every day. I never rode on a horse before. She got on her bicycle and rode away. He decided to walk to the movies instead of riding the bus. She rides the subway home from school. They rode the elevator to the second floor. We rode through the park in a horse-drawn carriage. The dog rode in the back of the truck.

Noun

We went for a ride in the country. I had my first ride in a limousine. I need a ride to work. She caught a ride with her coworker. We went on a horseback ride. The kids had a ride on a horse. They offered pony rides at the fair. The Ferris wheel is my favorite ride. We went for a ride on the roller coaster.

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Pickens rode the commodity supercycle in the early 2000s with aggressive and bullish bets, most of which paid off handsomely. — Cyrus Sanati, Fortune, "How Legendary ‘Raider’ T. Boone Pickens Changed the Oil Business—and Every Business," 14 Sep. 2019 One fellow miner rode a bicycle, panting heavily, electrodes attached to his chest. — Xing Liu, Science Magazine, "At 5100 meters elevation, a Peruvian gold mining town is the world’s highest settlement—and a good place to study how life at extremely low oxygen levels ravages the body.," 12 Sep. 2019 Assuming no breakdowns, TouringPlans says, more than 54,000 people can ride Pirates of the Caribbean. — Scott Craven, azcentral, "Disneyland ride capacity: How long will you have to wait in line?," 16 Aug. 2019 The astronauts would ride down to the surface in the pressurized cabin of an upper ascent stage. — William Harwood, CBS News, "NASA picks Alabama space center to manage lunar lander program," 16 Aug. 2019 The requirement for drivers to have commercial licences will contain the services’ growth and protect taxi-drivers, ride-hailing’s fiercest foes, or so the province hopes. — The Economist, "British Columbia gives Uber a cautious go-ahead," 1 Aug. 2019 The idea is to find the stocks with buzz, ride the wave, and then jump out before the whole thing collapses. — Justin Rohrlich, Quartz, "The FBI thinks Long Island Iced Tea’s infamous pivot to blockchain was sweetened by insider trading," 25 July 2019 Bumpy ride WhatsApp’s payments feature had a bumpy start in India before becoming widely accepted. — Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz India, "Zuckerberg is so happy with WhatsApp payment’s run in India, he wants to take it places," 24 July 2019 In New York City, ride-hail drivers are required to have Taxi and Limousine Commission licenses, which include finger-print based checks -- something ride-hail drivers do not have to undergo in other cities. — Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, "Lyft hit by five more alleged sexual assault, rape cases in one day," 17 Sep. 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

California Highway Patrol officers responded to the crash near Willow Street in Long Beach about 1:25 a.m. and found the big rig, which was carrying a large carnival ride, had collided with a Toyota Corolla, CHP Sgt. — Los Angeles Times, "Big rig carrying carnival ride crashes on 605 Freeway, causing full closure," 17 Sep. 2019 RideCheck works by using GPS and other smartphone sensors to detect a possible crash, or if a ride has gone off course. — Lisa Marie Segarra, Fortune, "Uber Now Knows If Your Ride Has Gone Wrong—By Tapping Your Smartphone’s Sensors," 17 Sep. 2019 Turkos reported the incident to the New York Police Department, and alerted Lyft that she was taken across state lines by a driver despite ordering a ride to take her within Brooklyn. — Sara Ashley O'brien, CNN, "Lyft hit by five more alleged sexual assault, rape cases in one day," 17 Sep. 2019 If the app detects a ride that's gone awry, both the driver and the rider will be prompted with a notification asking if everything is alright. — Lisa Marie Segarra, Fortune, "Uber Now Knows If Your Ride Has Gone Wrong—By Tapping Your Smartphone’s Sensors," 17 Sep. 2019 As the weekend began Friday afternoon, patrons shuffled in from shuttle buses and free ferry rides from Boston, while others emerged from the facility’s massive parking garage. — BostonGlobe.com, "But the Encore has become a significant new draw in the Boston area, even if the gambling traffic is modest by the lofty standards Wynn set in pursuit of its license.," 17 Sep. 2019 Testing never did pinpoint the exact source of contamination, though the fair’s petting zoo and pony rides were ruled out. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Missed phone calls, changing stories: How E. coli spread at the San Diego County Fair," 17 Sep. 2019 Since the Fed’s last meeting ended July 31, the markets have endured a tumultuous ride. — Washington Post, "With Trump trade war a threat, Fed is set to cut rates again," 16 Sep. 2019 Still, Boyd said many of the company’s initiatives for rebounding are in place as SeaWorld shifts from being a zoo to having more thrill rides and entertainment. — Gabrielle Russon, orlandosentinel.com, "SeaWorld’s CEO quits after 7 months on the job," 16 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.