rid

verb

ˈrid How to pronounce rid (audio)
Definition of ridnext
as in to relieve
to set (a person or thing) free of something that encumbers worked two jobs to rid himself of debt

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for rid
  1. relieve
  2. free
  3. clear
Verb
  • Campione supports re-prioritizing and accelerating infrastructure projects and relieving congestion on county roads, especially arterial and collector road projects, by pushing the state to replace outdated funding formulas.
    — James Wilkins, The Orlando Sentinel, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The outbursts helped relieve some pressure, but Nakashima tightened up as the prospect of making his first Masters 1000 final neared.
    — Ava Wallace, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of relieve
Verb
  • The result is a system that, in the long term, could carry out sub hunting autonomously, but in the short term acts as an onboard co-pilot, freeing up human operators while doubling sonobuoy processing capacity.
    — David Szondy August 12, New Atlas, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The film memorably told the story of a young boy who befriends and tries to free a killer whale who has been captured in the wild and is living in an aquarium.
    — Stewart Clarke, Deadline, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of free
Verb
  • Archaeologists first identified several in the western Brazilian state of Acre in 1977, when deforestation began to clear parts of the forest.
    — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 10 Aug. 2026
  • When the smoke cleared on October 4, 2024, Beloozerov’s body lay splayed out on the pavement amid shards of glass from his car window.
    — Isabelle Chapman, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of clear
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

rictuses
rid
riddance
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Rid.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rid. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on rid

Nglish: Translation of rid for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of zeugma

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All