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

Last February, Amy rode snowmobiles in Idaho while visiting Chris' family. — Selena Barrientos, Good Housekeeping, "Everything to Know About 'Little People, Big World' Star Amy Roloff's Boyfriend Chris Marek," 2 Apr. 2019 In Huron, there’s no place to buy a dress, deliver a baby, or attend high school (teens ride the school bus to a town 30 miles away). — Melody Warnick, Woman's Day, "These Small-Town Heroes Are Helping Their Communities Thrive," 2 Apr. 2019 Weekend Highlight Take a spin around scenic Bainbridge Island on the 47th annual Chilly Hilly ride, Cascade Bicycle Club’s unofficial start to the year’s bicycling season. — Madeline Mckenzie, The Seattle Times, "Chilly Hilly bike ride on Bainbridge and Seattle Home Show get ready to roll," 20 Feb. 2019 The lander, named Beresheet after the first book of the Torah, will ride in a Falcon 9 rocket along with an Indonesian communication satellite and an experimental Air Force mini-satellite. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "A Private Mission Hopes to Reach the Lunar Surface Without Help from Any Governments," 19 Feb. 2019 The residential market in Queens also rode the Amazon effect to great heights. — Konrad Putzier, WSJ, "Amazon’s Pullout From Queens, N.Y., Stuns Real-Estate Industry," 14 Feb. 2019 She and Colton ride horses before chilling in a hot tub in the desert. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, "The Bachelor Season 23, Episode 2 Recap: Is Demi This Season's Villain?," 14 Jan. 2019 The first paved road was laid about 8 years ago—before then, people would just ride their bikes everywhere, which is still the preferred way to get around for most locals. — Rachel Hahn, Vogue, "An Artists’ Guide to the Paradisiacal Beach Town of Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica," 2 Jan. 2019 The Contestants Cheer on Their Competitors Perhaps one of the most interesting things that happens during the show takes place in a building just a short golf cart ride away from the soundstage. — Alisa Wolfson, Country Living, "'The Voice' Behind-the-Scenes Secrets That No One Ever Knew," 15 Dec. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Meanwhile, Harry and Meghan's open-top, exceedingly sunny, carriage ride back in May is now iconic. — Harper's Bazaar Staff, Harper's BAZAAR, "Princess Eugenie's Wedding Compared to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's," 12 Oct. 2018 The Uber app provides distance and walking time to available scooters, but doesn’t offer trip comparisons showing if a ride on a bike or scooter may be faster than one in a car. — Patrick Sisson, Curbed, "Uber launches electric scooter service," 3 Oct. 2018 The ride between her former unit and this one hadn’t been more than a couple of minutes, but she was nauseated. — Mattie Kahn, Glamour, "Inside a Radical Experiment to Transform the Lives of Incarcerated Women," 22 Aug. 2018 Sobriety is kind of like the fast-pass line at Disneyland, except the ride is growing up. — Holly Glenn Whitaker, SELF, "7 Things That Inevitably Happen to Your Personal Life When You Get Sober," 17 Aug. 2018 The Marines are asking for six of the enormously expensive CH-53K King Stallion helicopter, ten MV-22 Ospreys, and six VH-92A helicopters, otherwise known as the new Marine One: the official vertical lift ride of the President of the United States. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The Pentagon’s 2020 Budget Asks for Nearly 380 Aircraft, But One Buy Is Raising Eyebrows," 13 Mar. 2019 When non-disabled people hire people with down syndrome to bypass long waits in lines for rides at amusement parks, they aren’t held accountable. — Brittney Mcnamara, Teen Vogue, "The College Admissions Scandal Could Have Lasting Impacts for Disabled People," 13 Mar. 2019 But there's a big drawback: Not all of the rides will be open on those dates. — Megan Friedman And Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, "Disney Just Released New Details for Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge at Both Disney World and Disneyland," 8 Mar. 2019 Although these shuttles might feel more theme-park ride than transit solution, these slow-motion minibuses are performing an important task by introducing people to the idea of driverless tech. — Alissa Walker, Curbed, "The good, the bad, and the ugly of self-driving cars in 2018," 27 Dec. 2018

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.