as in relieving
to set (a person or thing) free of something that encumbers
worked two jobs to rid himself of debt
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Recent Examples of ridding
Ways to Get Rid of Weeds Between Pavers The best method for ridding your patio or stone path of weeds depends largely on the severity of the weed problem.
—
Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Apr. 2026
During Blue Bloods' 14 seasons from 2010 until 2024, Wahlberg got some experience ridding himself of his Boston accent to play a Brooklynite.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
However, the addition of an ingredient or two can turn baking soda into an ant-ridding remedy in a pinch.
—Rabekah Henderson, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
The enduring scent of burning garbage, used as one of the sole means of ridding neighborhoods of their trash.
—Ruth Jean-Marie, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Instead, under that framing, the fault lay with the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis for not ridding their streets of immigrants without legal status to remain in the United States.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 1 Feb. 2026
In a 2020 debate with the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kennedy raised doubts about whether the vaccine had really been responsible for ridding the country of polio, crediting instead factors such as sanitation and hygiene.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
This means finally ridding yourself of the embarrassing high school or college address you are still stuck with decades later.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
This filtration system ensures that your floors are getting their most thorough clean, while also ridding your space of irritants like dust that can cause allergy flare-ups.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 25 Apr. 2026
During Blue Bloods' 14 seasons from 2010 until 2024, Wahlberg got some experience ridding himself of his Boston accent to play a Brooklynite.
—Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 22 Apr. 2026
However, the addition of an ingredient or two can turn baking soda into an ant-ridding remedy in a pinch.
—Rabekah Henderson, The Spruce, 3 Mar. 2026
The enduring scent of burning garbage, used as one of the sole means of ridding neighborhoods of their trash.
—Ruth Jean-Marie, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Instead, under that framing, the fault lay with the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis for not ridding their streets of immigrants without legal status to remain in the United States.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 1 Feb. 2026
In a 2020 debate with the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kennedy raised doubts about whether the vaccine had really been responsible for ridding the country of polio, crediting instead factors such as sanitation and hygiene.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
This means finally ridding yourself of the embarrassing high school or college address you are still stuck with decades later.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
This filtration system ensures that your floors are getting their most thorough clean, while also ridding your space of irritants like dust that can cause allergy flare-ups.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ridding
Verb
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Menon will be relieving NASA astronaut Chris Williams, who will fly back home on a Soyuz with two cosmonauts soon after Menon’s arrival.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 May 2026
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The Tiami mattress, now 35% off for Memorial Day, is a design-forward, luxury mattress that has cooling and pain-relieving properties.—
Blake Bakkila,
Architectural Digest,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Not as punishment, but to better know our playing grounds and appreciate the big and small things—like freeing wads of vegetation from an undercarriage—that turn a field into a stage.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
In Xbox Mode, the standard Windows UI doesn’t load at all, freeing up additional memory and other system resources for games.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
Verb
-
Taking a break or clearing mental space helps.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
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But muddy conditions led to slop and chaos, and tired out the front-runners after a very fast opening pace, clearing the way for the closer to do his thing.—
Peter Keating,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ridding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ridding. Accessed 7 May. 2026.
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