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PlainSpell

ride

/ɹaɪd/verb, noun

ride is spelled R-I-D-E: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, ride means “To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in ride?

Letters4: R-I-D-E
Syllables1 (from its American pronunciation)
In writing71 times per million words; the 1,486th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with
Same letters

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is ride?

Ride appears 71 times per million words in written English, the 1,486th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce ride?

  • US /ɹaɪd/
  • /ɹɛɪd/

Ride has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-ride.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with ride?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as ride from its last stressed vowel (/aɪd/):

Spelled with the same letters in another order: dire, dier.

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of ride

  • rides present, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • riding participle, present
  • rode past, singular, he/she/it, plural
  • ridden participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does ride mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    To transport oneself by sitting on and directing a horse, later also a bicycle etc.

    I ride to work every day and park the bike outside the office.

  2. 2

    To be transported in a vehicle; to travel as a passenger.

  3. 3

    USinformalTo transport (someone) in a vehicle.

    The cab rode him downtown.

  4. 4

    Of a ship: to sail, to float on the water.

  5. 5

    To be carried or supported by something lightly and quickly; to travel in such a way, as though on horseback.

    The witch cackled and rode away on her broomstick.

  6. 6

    To traverse by riding.

  7. 7

    To convey, as by riding; to make or do by riding.

    How many races have you ridden this year?

  8. 8

    To exploit or take advantage of (a situation).

noun

  1. 1

    An instance of riding.

    Can I have a ride on your bike?

  2. 2

    informalA vehicle.

    That's a nice ride; what did it cost?

  3. 3

    An amusement ridden at a fair or amusement park.

    the kids went on all the rides

  4. 4

    A lift given to someone in another person's vehicle.

    Can you give me a ride home?

  5. 5

    UKA road or avenue cut in a wood, for riding; a bridleway or other wide country path.

  6. 6

    UKarchaicA saddle horse.

  7. 7

    IrelandA person (or sometimes a thing or a place) that is visually attractive.

  8. 8

    A steady rhythmical style.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Ride in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchrouler, monter, chevaucher (to transport oneself by sitting on and…), monter en, à (to be transported in a vehicle as a passenger), conduire (to transport someone in a vehicle)
Germanreiten, fahren (to transport oneself by sitting on and…), Fahrt (instance of riding), Fahrgeschäft (amusement), Mitfahrgelegenheit, Beförderungsfahrt (lift (in a vehicle))
Portugueseandar de, cavalgar (to transport oneself by sitting on and…), pegar (to be transported in a vehicle as a passenger), levar (to transport someone in a vehicle), volta (instance of riding), sentar (to mount someone to have sex with them)
Spanishmontar, cabalgar, caballear, ruar, andar (to transport oneself by sitting on and…), pasear (to be transported in a vehicle as a passenger)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does ride come from?

From Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *rīdan, from Proto-Germanic *rīdaną (“to ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *Hreydʰ- (“to ride”), from *h₃reyH- (“to move”), from *h₃er- (“to move, stir”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after ride