Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Ridden \Rid"den\,
p. p. of {Ride.}
Ride \Ride\, v. i. [imp. {Rode} (r[=o]d) ({Rid} [r[i^]d],
archaic); p. p. {Ridden}({Rid}, archaic); p. pr. & vb. n.
{Riding}.] [AS. r[=i]dan; akin to LG. riden, D. rijden, G.
reiten, OHG. r[=i]tan, Icel. r[=i][eth]a, Sw. rida, Dan.
ride; cf. L. raeda a carriage, which is from a Celtic word.
Cf. {Road}.]
1. To be carried on the back of an animal, as a horse.
To-morrow, when ye riden by the way. --Chaucer.
Let your master ride on before, and do you gallop
after him. --Swift.
2. To be borne in a carriage; as, to ride in a coach, in a
car, and the like. See Synonym, below.
The richest inhabitants exhibited their wealth, not
by riding in gilden carriages, but by walking the
streets with trains of servants. --Macaulay.
3. To be borne or in a fluid; to float; to lie.
Men once walked where ships at anchor ride.
--Dryden.
4. To be supported in motion; to rest.
Strong as the exletree On which heaven rides.
--Shak.
On whose foolish honesty My practices ride easy!
--Shak.
5. To manage a horse, as an equestrian.
He rode, he fenced, he moved with graceful ease.
--Dryden.
6. To support a rider, as a horse; to move under the saddle;
as, a horse rides easy or hard, slow or fast.
{To ride easy} (Naut.), to lie at anchor without violent
pitching or straining at the cables.
{To ride hard} (Naut.), to pitch violently.
{To ride out}.
(a) To go upon a military expedition. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
(b) To ride in the open air. [Colloq.]
{To ride to hounds}, to ride behind, and near to, the hounds
in hunting.
Syn: Drive.
Usage: {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.
Source : WordNet®
ride
n 1: a journey in a vehicle driven by someone else; "he took the
family for a drive in his new car" [syn: {drive}]
2: a mechanical device that you ride for amusement or
excitement
[also: {rode}, {ridden}]
ride
v 1: sit and travel on the back of animal, usually while
controlling its motions; "She never sat a horse!"; "Did
you ever ride a camel?"; "The girl liked to drive the
young mare" [syn: {sit}]
2: be carried or travel on or in a vehicle; "I ride to work in
a bus"; "He rides the subway downtown every day" [ant: {walk}]
3: continue undisturbed and without interference; "Let it ride"
4: move like a floating object; "The moon rode high in the
night sky"
5: harass with persistent criticism or carping; "The children
teased the new teacher"; "Don't ride me so hard over my
failure"; "His fellow workers razzed him when he wore a
jacket and tie" [syn: {tease}, {razz}, {rag}, {cod}, {tantalize},
{tantalise}, {bait}, {taunt}, {twit}, {rally}]
6: be sustained or supported or borne; "His glasses rode high
on his nose"; "The child rode on his mother's hips"; "She
rode a wave of popularity"; "The brothers rode to an easy
victory on their father's political name"
7: have certain properties when driven; "This car rides
smoothly"; "My new truck drives well" [syn: {drive}]
8: be contingent on; "The outcomes rides on the results of the
electin"; "Your grade will depends on your homework" [syn:
{depend on}, {devolve on}, {depend upon}, {turn on}, {hinge
on}, {hinge upon}]
9: lie moored or anchored; "Ship rides at anchor"
10: sit on and control a vehicle; "He rides his bicycle to work
every day"; "She loves to ride her new motorcycle through
town"
11: climb up on the body; "Shorts that ride up"; "This skirt
keeps riding up my legs"
12: ride over, along, or through; "Travel the highways of
America"; "Ride the freeways of California"
13: keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with
the foot; "Don't ride the clutch!"
14: copulate with; "The bull was riding the cow" [syn: {mount}]
[also: {rode}, {ridden}]
ridden
See {ride}