Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - ride

~1 v past tense rode past participle ridden 1 »ANIMAL« to sit on an animal, especially a horse, and make it move along  (She learnt to ride when she was seven. | ride away/across/back etc)  (He rode away across the marshes. | ride sth)  (I've never ridden a horse. | ride on sth)  (She arrived riding on a white horse. | go riding)  (I go riding every Saturday. | ride a race)  (I rode a good number of races last season. | ride a winner (=ride a horse that wins a race))  (I rode my first winner last year. | ride the countryside/range AmE (=to travel on a horse across the countryside))  (They rode the countryside in search of her.) 2 »BICYCLE/MOTORBIKE« I always + adv/prep, to travel on a bicycle or motorbike  (ride away/down/back etc)  (They mounted their bikes and rode off. | ride sth)  (She rode her bicycle to school every day. | ride on sth)  (Can I ride on your bike?) 3 »VEHICLE« I always + adv/prep, especially AmE to travel in a bus, car, or other vehicle  (ride in/on sth)  (It was the first time they had ridden in a train. | I ride in cabs whenever I can. | ride to/into/back etc)  (We got onto the bus and rode into San Francisco. | ride a bus AmE)  (Ann rode a bus for the rest of the distance.) 4 ride on sb's shoulders/back if a child rides on someone's shoulders or back, they are carried in that way  (He was tired so he rode on his father's shoulders.) 5 »IN A LIFT« I always + adv/prep, especially AmE to travel up or down in a lift  (ride up/down)  (I walked to the elevator and rode back down. | ride sth)  (When the elevator arrived he rode it down to his floor.) 6 »IN WATER« a) to move or float on the water  (The smaller boat was lighter and rode higher in the water. | ride at anchor)  (There was a large ship riding at anchor in the bay.) b) ride a wave to float on a wave and move forward with it  (The sea was full of surfboarders riding the waves.) 7 be riding high to feel very happy and confident  (They were riding high on their election victory.) 8 let sth ride spoken to take no action about something that is wrong or unpleasant  (He made a derogatory remark, but I let it ride.) 9 ride roughshod over to ignore someone else's feelings or ideas because you have the power or authority to do this  (He was accused of riding roughshod over his colleagues' proposals.) 10 »ANNOY SB« AmE spoken to annoy someone by repeatedly criticizing them or asking them to do things  (Stop riding her - she's doing her best.) 11 ride a punch/blow to move back slightly when someone hits you, so that you are not hit with so much force  (He managed to ride the punch.) 12 be riding for a fall informal to be doing something unwise which could result in failure  (I had a feeling he was riding for a fall, and tried to tell him so.) ride sb down phr v to knock someone down when you are riding on a horse  (They were almost ridden down by the cavalry.) ride on sth phr v if someone's success or the respect that they get is riding on something, it depends on it  (He knew he had to win - his reputation was riding on it.) ride sth out phr v 1 if a ship rides out a storm, it manages to keep floating until the storm has ended 2 if you ride out a difficult situation, you are not badly harmed by it  (The company was deeply involved in the scandal, but managed to ride it out successfully.) ride up phr v if a skirt rides up, it moves upwards so that it is no longer covering your body properly ~2 n 1 »JOURNEY« a journey on a horse or bicycle, or in a vehicle  (It was a lovely morning for a ride.) + in/on  (a ride in the director's personal car | go for a ride)  (Let's go for a ride in the countryside. | have a ride)  (Can I have a ride on your motorbike? | take sb for a ride)  (Shall I take you for a ride in my car? | give sb a ride)  (A man gave me a ride back to Harrisburg. | a car/lorry/train etc ride)  (He was exhausted after the coach ride from Manchester. | get a (free) ride)  (I managed to get a free ride down to the station. | hitch a ride)  (She hitched a ride into town.) 2 give sb a rough ride informal to make a situation difficult or unpleasant for someone in authority  (The journalists gave the Prime Minister a pretty rough ride.) 3 take sb for a ride spoken to trick someone, especially in order to get money from them  (I'd just begun to realise he was taking me for a ride.) 4 come/go along for the ride spoken to join what other people are doing just for pleasure, not because you are seriously interested in it  (I had nothing better to do, so I thought I'd go along for the ride.) 5 have/be in for a bumpy ride informal to have or be likely to have difficulties or problems 6 »MACHINE« a large machine that people ride on for pleasure at a fair  (The rides are exciting, but very expensive.) 7 »PATH« a path that is suitable for horses but not for cars  (a grassy ride)