rid
rid Lexical Profile
rid Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relieved, freed, or cleared of someone or something unwanted or burdensome (used predicatively with 'of').
"Once the noisy construction down the street finally ended, the residents were glad to be rid of the constant clamor."
• verb
To make someone or something free of an unwanted, harmful, or troublesome person or thing (usually followed by 'of').
"The conservation team worked tirelessly to rid the island of invasive plant species."
Word Nuance & Usage
As an adjective, 'rid' is strictly predicative and is almost exclusively used with the preposition 'of' in phrases such as 'get rid of' or 'be rid of'. As a verb, its past tense and past participle are invariable ('rid'), though 'ridded' occasionally appears in older or regional usage.
• Rhymes for rid
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old Norse 'ryðja', meaning 'to clear land of trees or brush', which displaced the native Old English cognate 'hreddan' ('to free or rescue').