Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🚴 To travel on 🚗 A journey 🎢 A fun attraction ⛴️ To float on 🎯 To depend on 🛣️ To move smoothly 🙄 To nag 🐂 To mate 🦶 To press lightly
to ride

to ride

65 5.3
To depend on something for the result
  • verb
  • /raɪd/
: depender de
  • Until then, get invested and ride this wave up.

Examples

  • So, Nick, I've got a half a million sunk in your campaign and a lot more riding on the result.

    Broken City (2013)

  • There's a lot riding on this, so don't screw it up.

    Unfavorable Odds (2022)

  • You just have to ride it out to see which one it is.

  • Sufficient energy storage is provided to ride through a full cycle of lost main power.

    Academic text (1998)

  • There's a lot riding on it for both of us.

    Honor Society (2022)

  • My whole life rides on Music Fest.

    Due Season (2022)

  • The political fate of all involved in Lithuania seemed to ride on support for the republic's autonomy.

    Academic text (1990)

  • The network's hopes for a late-night hit are riding on the shoulders of the host, a popular Chicago radio announcer.

    Late Night with the Devil (2024)

  • This decision could really ride on the outcome of the negotiations.

  • Her future plans ride on whether she passes the exam next month.

Synonyms

to depend on
vsto ride
∞ 1.7

Be affected or decided by something

matches this general idea of being influenced by something
to depend upon
vsto ride
83 2.3

To be decided by something such as the weather

expresses the same general relation of influence or determination
to hinge
vsto ride
35 4.3

To depend on something for a result

is a more neutral term for being influenced or decided by something
to hinge on
vsto ride
34 4.2

Need one thing to happen for another thing to be true

can mean general influence rather than complete decision
to turn on
vsto ride
20 4.1

To depend on something

is used more broadly for any influence or cause rather than necessity
to ride on the back of
vsto ride
2 5.4

To use past success to help you now

is general about being determined by something, not about past benefit
to hinge upon
vsto ride
  • Formal
1 5.5

To depend completely on something for the result

is used for being influenced without implying total reliance

Idioms

to ride the wave
12 4.2

To use a current trend or chance while it lasts to get advantage

to ride off into the sunset
  • Informal
9 6.5

Leave a situation happily to begin a new life

to ride the rails
6 7.4

To travel long distances by train in a relaxed or adventurous way

to ride the bench
  • Jargon
2 7.5

To stay on the sidelines and not play in a game

to ride roughshod
2 8.8

Treat people badly and ignore their feelings or rights

to ride the pine
  • Slang
2 9.5

Sit on the bench and not play during a sports game

to ride on someone's coattail
  • Informal
2 6.9

Use another person's success to get benefits without much effort

to ride the short bus
  • Slur
1 9.9

To call someone not smart to insult them

ticket to ride
  • Informal
1 6.9

A way to gain success or better opportunities

to ride on a rail
  • Archaic
1 9.9

To be publicly punished or laughed at in a way that shames you

to ride the wave of popularity
1 5.4

To gain from a sudden rise in public interest

to ride tall in the saddle
1 8.2

Feel and act confident

to ride with the punches
  • Informal
1 7.2

To accept and adapt to difficult times without giving up

to ride hard and put away wet
  • Archaic
9.9

To be extremely tired and worn after hard work or rough treatment

to ride one's luck
  • Informal
7.4

To rely on good luck instead of working for success

Phrasal Verbs

to take a ride
65 1.9

To go for a short drive to have fun and relax

to ride out
54 5.3

To stay safe through a difficult or dangerous time

to ride off
29 3.9

To leave a place by riding a horse, bike, or motorcycle

to ride high
  • Informal
20 5.9

To be very successful and confident for a time

to offer a ride
17 2.0

Take someone somewhere in your car to help them

to catch a ride
  • US
16 3.2

To travel in someone else's car as a passenger

to ride away
13 2.7

To go away while on a horse, bike, or motorcycle

to let it ride
11 7.0

Allow a situation to continue without changing it

to ride up
11 5.1

Clothing that moves up on the body and feels uncomfortable

to ride horseback
4 3.7

To sit on a horse and guide it as it moves

to ride herd
  • US
4 8.8

To sit on a horse and guide a group of cows

to ride herd on
  • Informal
2 8.9

Keep a close watch on people and their work

to ride on the back of
2 5.4

To use past success to help you now

to thumb a ride
  • Archaic
1 8.2

To get a free ride from a passing car by standing by the road and showing your thumb

to ride roughshod over
1 8.5

Treat other people's feelings, rights, or opinions as not important and ignore them rudely

to ride tandem
1 4.8

To travel on a bicycle with one person sitting behind another

to take the ride
1 7.7

To accept an experience without knowing what will happen

to ride bitch
  • Offensive
1 9.9

To sit behind the driver on a motorcycle

to ride someone's bumper
  • Informal
1 7.9

To drive very closely behind another car in a dangerous way

to ride luck
  • Informal
1 7.3

To take a risk and hope things go well

to let the project ride
6.1

Allow a project to continue without making changes

Compounds

free ride
  • Informal
43 4.2

A benefit you get without paying or working

wild ride
24 3.6

An exciting, fast attraction at an amusement park like a roller coaster

boat ride
19 1.3

A short trip on a boat to see places or for fun

full ride
  • US
12 3.4

A scholarship that pays all college costs, including tuition, fees, room, and meals

hay ride
  • US
2 3.0

A ride in a wagon filled with hay for fun on a farm

rollercoaster ride
2 4.0

An experience with many sudden ups and downs in feelings or events

Nantucket sleigh ride
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A wild, dangerous ride like when a whale pulls a small boat very fast

airship ride
6.7

A trip in a large blimp that carries people to look at the land below

backie ride
  • Australian
9.6

A ride sitting behind someone on a bicycle or motorbike

How Dependent

to hinge on
34 4.2
to determine
208 3.1
to ride
65 5.3
to relate
293 2.2

Surface Forms

ride infinitive
riding present participle
rides third person singular
rode past
ridden past participle

Etymology

A helpful way to remember ride in the sense 'depend on' is to think of a rider depending on a horse; the word comes from old ridan meaning 'to get on'. So when something 'rides on' another thing, it depends on it.