Basic+ Word of the Day: rid

rid (verb) past tense: rid

Yoga can rid you of stress.

Rid means ‘to be free or to relieve of something unwanted.’

• Rid your mind of any doubts; I'll pay you back next week.
• When you want to relax, rid yourself of negative thoughts and breathe deeply.

Common uses

get rid of: to become free of. Example: “Thanks to the exterminator, we got rid of the insect problem.”

Related words

riddance: the act of getting rid of anything unwanted. Example: “Fred’s mother-in-law finally went home. Good riddance!”

In pop culture

Here, Charlie Rich is singing “Who Will the Next Fool Be.” Listen for the opening lyric, “After you get rid of me, who will the next fool be?”

There are other meanings of rid.