Rid

How to spell rid

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce rid

What does rid mean?

1. verbTo make someone or something free of an unwanted thing.

Rid in a sentence

• The new filter will rid the water of impurities.

• They hired an exterminator to rid the house of mice.

Where does rid come from?

Language of origin: Old Norse

This is an old verb that came into English from Old Norse, where the related verb rythja meant 'to clear' a piece of land of trees or obstructions. It blended with a similar Old English word hreddan, meaning 'to save, snatch away, or deliver from danger', so the modern sense carries both ideas: clearing something out and freeing someone from a burden. By the Middle Ages 'rid' had settled into its familiar meaning of making a place or person free of something unwanted. The phrase 'get rid of' grew out of this and is now far more common than the bare verb. Because the word is short and phonetically regular, its only real spelling pitfall is keeping the single 'd' rather than doubling it.

How the word is built

• rid (single root, from Old Norse rythja: to clear land)