Syn. — Drive. — Ride, Drive. Ride originally meant (and is so used throughout the English Bible)
to be carried on horseback or in a vehicle of any kind. At present in England, drive is the word applied
in most cases to progress in a carriage; as, a drive around the park, etc.; while ride is appropriated to
progress on a horse. Johnson seems to sanction this distinction by giving "to travel on horseback" as
the leading sense of ride; though he adds "to travel in a vehicle" as a secondary sense. This latter use
of the word still occurs to some extent; as, the queen rides to Parliament in her coach of state; to ride in
an omnibus.
"Will you ride over or drive?" said Lord Willowby to his quest, after breakfast that morning.
W. Black. Ride
(Ride), v. t.
1. To sit on, so as to be carried; as, to ride a horse; to ride a bicycle.
[They] rend up both rocks and hills, and ride the air
In whirlwind.
Milton. 2. To manage insolently at will; to domineer over.
The nobility could no longer endure to be ridden by bakers, cobblers, and brewers.
Swift. 3. To convey, as by riding; to make or do by riding.
Tue only men that safe can ride
Mine errands on the Scottish side.
Sir W. Scott. 4. (Surg.) To overlap (each other); — said of bones or fractured fragments.
To ride a hobby, to have some favorite occupation or subject of talk. — To ride and tie, to take turn
with another in labor and rest; — from the expedient adopted by two persons with one horse, one of
whom rides the animal a certain distance, and then ties him for the use of the other, who is coming up
on foot. Fielding. — To ride down. (a) To ride over; to trample down in riding; to overthrow by riding
against; as, to ride down an enemy. (b) (Naut.) To bear down, as on a halyard when hoisting a sail.
— To ride out (Naut.), to keep safe afloat during (a storm) while riding at anchor or when hove to on
the open sea; as, to ride out the gale.
Ride
(Ride), n.
1. The act of riding; an excursion on horseback or in a vehicle.
2. A saddle horse. [Prov. Eng.] Wright.
3. A road or avenue cut in a wood, or through grounds, to be used as a place for riding; a riding.
Rideau
(Ri*deau") n. [F.] A small mound of earth; ground slightly elevated; a small ridge.
Riden
(Rid"en) obs. imp. pl. & p. p. of Ride. Chaucer.
Rident
(Ri"dent) a. [L. ridens, p. pr. of ridere to laugh.] Laughing. [R.] Thackeray.
Rider
(Rid"er) n.
1. One who, or that which, rides.
2. Formerly, an agent who went out with samples of goods to obtain orders; a commercial traveler. [Eng.]
3. One who breaks or manages a horse. Shak.
