- (followed by of) to relieve or deliver from something disagreeable or undesirable; make free (of)
- get rid of ⇒ to relieve or free oneself of (something or someone unpleasant or undesirable)
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
rid1 /rɪd/USA pronunciation
v. [~ + object + of + object], rid or rid•ded, rid•ding.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to free or relieve of something unwanted:Rid your mind of doubt and believe in me.
- Idioms, be or get rid of, [~ + object] to be or become free of:Finally we are rid of the insect problem.
rid1
(rid),USA pronunciation v.t., rid or rid•ded, rid•ding.
rid′der, n.
rid2 (rid),USA pronunciation v. [Archaic.]
- to clear, disencumber, or free of something objectionable (usually fol. by of ):I want to rid the house of mice. In my opinion, you'd be wise to rid yourself of the smoking habit.
- to relieve or disembarrass (usually fol. by of ):to rid the mind of doubt.
- [Archaic.]to deliver or rescue:to rid them out of bondage; to rid him from his enemies.
- be rid of, to be free of or no longer encumbered by:to be rid of obligations.
- get rid of, to eliminate or discard:It's time we got rid of this trash.
- 1150–1200; Middle English ridden (verb, verbal), Old English (ge)ryddan to clear (land); cognate with Old Norse rythja to clear, empty
rid2 (rid),USA pronunciation v. [Archaic.]
- a pt. and pp. of ride.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
rid /rɪd/ vb (rids, ridding, rid, ridded) (transitive)
'rid of' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
another
- away
- barnacle
- clear
- cure
- declutter
- discard
- disembarrass
- disinfect
- disinfest
- disposal
- drown
- eliminate
- free
- go out
- impersonalize
- make away
- off
- off-load
- palm off
- rid
- riddance
- shed
- ship
- shrug off
- sweat off
- throwaway
- unload
- walk off
- work off
- barnburner
- burke
- buy
- clean
- crazy eights
- deal
- deck
- deep six
- degenderize
- degerm
- demystify
- denazify
- deodorize
- destabilize
- detoxify
- disburden
- discharge
- disenchant
- dispense
- dispose