as in relieving
to set (a person or thing) free of something that encumbers
worked two jobs to rid himself of debt
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Recent Examples of ridding
The enduring scent of burning garbage, used as one of the sole means of ridding neighborhoods of their trash.
—
Ruth Jean-Marie, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Instead, under that framing, the fault lay with the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis for not ridding their streets of immigrants without legal status to remain in the United States.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 1 Feb. 2026
In a 2020 debate with the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kennedy raised doubts about whether the vaccine had really been responsible for ridding the country of polio, crediting instead factors such as sanitation and hygiene.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
This means finally ridding yourself of the embarrassing high school or college address you are still stuck with decades later.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
This filtration system ensures that your floors are getting their most thorough clean, while also ridding your space of irritants like dust that can cause allergy flare-ups.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
The committee is calling on several MCCA leaders to testify at the hearing, including CEO Marcel Vernon, who welcomed the hearing and told the Herald in a statement that obstacles still remain in the way of ridding the Convention Center of bias and exclusion.
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
Prescott also blasted the BBC for failing to take into account the learnings from several content reviews, which had been conducted since soon after Davie took over the job and prioritized ridding impartiality issues above almost all else.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Nov. 2025
Start by ridding your freezer of any large, loose debris.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2025
Ruth Jean-Marie, Time, 3 Feb. 2026
Instead, under that framing, the fault lay with the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of Minneapolis for not ridding their streets of immigrants without legal status to remain in the United States.
—John C. Moritz, Austin American Statesman, 1 Feb. 2026
In a 2020 debate with the lawyer Alan Dershowitz, Kennedy raised doubts about whether the vaccine had really been responsible for ridding the country of polio, crediting instead factors such as sanitation and hygiene.
—Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 28 Jan. 2026
This means finally ridding yourself of the embarrassing high school or college address you are still stuck with decades later.
—Zak Doffman, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
This filtration system ensures that your floors are getting their most thorough clean, while also ridding your space of irritants like dust that can cause allergy flare-ups.
—Yelena Moroz Alpert, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2025
The committee is calling on several MCCA leaders to testify at the hearing, including CEO Marcel Vernon, who welcomed the hearing and told the Herald in a statement that obstacles still remain in the way of ridding the Convention Center of bias and exclusion.
—Tim Dunn, Boston Herald, 4 Dec. 2025
Prescott also blasted the BBC for failing to take into account the learnings from several content reviews, which had been conducted since soon after Davie took over the job and prioritized ridding impartiality issues above almost all else.
—Max Goldbart, Deadline, 24 Nov. 2025
Start by ridding your freezer of any large, loose debris.
—Mary Catherine McAnnally Scott, Southern Living, 24 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ridding
Verb
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Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who received a pain-relieving injection in his throwing shoulder before the game, was sacked six times and had three turnovers in the 29-13 loss.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
9 Feb. 2026
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Ginger has the strongest research for relieving nausea, especially from pregnancy, motion sickness, surgery, and chemotherapy.—
Lindsey DeSoto,
Health,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Aljorna was able to slip out of his jacket, freeing himself from the agent’s grasp, and ran to his cousin, Goetz said.—
Emma Tucker,
CNN Money,
15 Feb. 2026
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The lights in the hallways are on, freeing the staff from the need to shuffle around with flashlights.—
Simon Shuster,
The Atlantic,
12 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Those workers will focus on repairing broken lights, hardening lights to prevent copper wire theft and clearing the backlog of deferred cases.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
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The player who reaches the bottom fastest while clearing each gate wins that heat.—
Ramon Padilla,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ridding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ridding. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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