rid imp. & p. p. of Ride, v. i.()He rid to the end of the village, where he alighted. (Thackeray.)v. t.[OE. ridden, redden, AS. hreddan to deliver, liberate; akin to D. & LG. redden, G. retten, Dan. redde, Sw. rdda, and perhaps to Skr. rath to loosen.]1. To save; to rescue; to deliver; -- with out of.()Deliver the poor and needy; rid them out of the hand of the wicked. (Ps. lxxxii. 4.)2. To free; to clear; to disencumber; -- followed by of.(Shak.)In never ridded myself of an overmastering and brooding sense of some great calamity traveling toward me. (De Quincey.)3. To drive away; to remove by effort or violence; to make away with; to destroy.()I will red evil beasts out of the land. (Lev. xxvi. 6.)Death's men, you have rid this sweet young prince! (Shak.)4. To get over; to dispose of; to dispatch; to finish.(Shak.)Mirth will make us rid ground faster than if thieves were at our tails. (J. Webster.)To be rid of, to be free or delivered from. -- To get rid of, to get deliverance from; to free one's self from.()