rid

The verb "rid" means to send something away or throw something away.

• They’re trying to rid themselves of their debt.
• Maria wants to rid herself of some bad memories.
• You can rid yourself of a lot of problems if you move to a new place. (Notice that the word "rid" is often used with a reflexive pronoun.)

It’s very common to hear the word "rid" used as an idiom: get rid of.

• We need to get rid of this old car.
• Sara and Ali got rid of their couch.
• It’s not easy to get rid of old electronic stuff. You can’t just throw it in the garbage.
• Are you trying to get rid of me? (Do you want me to go away? Do you not want to be with me?)

His snow shovel broke. He’ll have to get rid of it and get a new one.

You might also hear "rid" embedded in this expression: good riddance. This means that you are happy to see something go away:

• I didn’t know Tony was moving away. Good riddance!
• Good riddance to dirty forms of energy. We need cleaner sources of energy to heat our homes and run our cars.

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Published March 30, 2012 / Updated December 21, 2017