Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

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.

Riding \Rid"ing\, n.
   1. The act or state of one who rides.

   2. A festival procession. [Obs.]

            When there any riding was in Cheap.   --Chaucer.

   3. Same as {Ride}, n., 3. --Sir P. Sidney.

   4. A district in charge of an excise officer. [Eng.]

Riding \Rid"ing\ (r[imac]d"[i^]ng), n. [For thriding, Icel.
   [thorn]ri[eth]jungr the third part, fr. [thorn]ri[eth]i
   third, akin to E. third. See {Third}.]
   One of the three jurisdictions into which the county of York,
   in England, is divided; -- formerly under the government of a
   reeve. They are called the North, the East, and the West,
   Riding. --Blackstone.

Riding \Rid"ing\, a.
   1. Employed to travel; traveling; as, a riding clerk. ``One
      riding apparitor.'' --Ayliffe.

   2. Used for riding on; as, a riding horse.

   3. Used for riding, or when riding; devoted to riding; as, a
      riding whip; a riding habit; a riding day.

   {Riding clerk}.
      (a) A clerk who traveled for a commercial house. [Obs.
          Eng.]
      (b) One of the ``six clerks'' formerly attached to the
          English Court of Chancery.

   {Riding hood}.
      (a) A hood formerly worn by women when riding.
      (b) A kind of cloak with a hood.

   {Riding master}, an instructor in horsemanship.

   {Riding rhyme} (Pros.), the meter of five accents, with
      couplet rhyme; -- probably so called from the mounted
      pilgrims described in the Canterbury Tales. --Dr. Guest.

   {Riding school}, a school or place where the art of riding is
      taught.

Source : WordNet®

riding
     n 1: riding a horse as a sport [syn: {horseback riding}, {equitation}]
     2: riding a horse as a means of transportation [syn: {horseback
        riding}]

riding
     adj : traveling by wheeled vehicle such as bicycle or automobile
           e.g.; "the riding public welcomed the new buses" [syn:
           {awheel}]