ride-sharing

noun

ride-shar·​ing ˈrīd-ˌsher-iŋ 

variants or less commonly ridesharing or ride sharing

: the act or practice of sharing automobile trips

El Camino College is proposing a new $30-a-semester fee for student parking in lots on the campus. … Under the proposal, those who participate in ride-sharing would pay $20 a semester.

—Los Angeles Times

especially : an arrangement in which drivers of usually privately owned vehicles who wish to offer rides and passengers who wish to obtain rides use a network (such as one accessed through an app or a website) to coordinate the sharing of individual automobile trips for which the passengers pay a fare

The idea of ride sharing, which would leverage smartphones to save people money while offering a taxi-like service, is potentially more disruptive because it cuts out professional drivers altogether.

—The New York Times (online)

When Mims started working for Uber, it was initially so lucrative that he left his full-time truck driving job to focus on ridesharing.

—Irina Ivanova

Cab companies worldwide are also facing competitive pressure from ride-sharing firms like Uber and Lyft, where the apps connect riders with private citizens who drive them to their destinations.

—Janet Moore

compare car pool

Examples of ride-sharing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And yet, rising costs are driving a growing number of Americans to turn their back on this national obsession and rethink car ownership, considering less expensive and more environmentally sustainable alternatives, such as car- and ride-sharing, leasing and public transport. —Giulia Carbonaro, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 May 2025

Android 16’s first public beta will start rolling out later today, bringing with it dynamic lockscreen notifications for ride-sharing and food delivery, following yesterday’s reveal of a similar feature in Samsung’s Galaxy S25 phones. —Dominic Preston, The Verge, 23 Jan. 2025

Last year, Khosrowshahi blamed remote work for the loss of its most loyal customers, who would take ride-sharing as their commute to work. —Jennifer Elias, CNBC, 29 Apr. 2025

Apps like WeChat and Grab integrate payments, banking, e-commerce and ride-sharing for a unified user experience. —Bindesh Pandey, Forbes.com, 25 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1942, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ride-sharing

• overbearing
• airing
• bearing
• blaring
• caring
• chairing
• charing
• daring
• erring
• fairing
• flaring
• glaring