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Glite Dictionary
to ride horseback

to ride horseback

2 3.7
To sit on a horse and guide it as it moves
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : montar a caballo
  • Years ago, he rode horseback along the county roads to call on patients.
  • a man riding horseback

Examples

  • Red Fox James, Blackfeet, rode horseback from state to state, getting endorsements from 24 state governments to have a day to honor American Indians.

    Blog text (30)

  • Away from the field, they rode horseback together.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • We used to ride horseback down the arroyo to the intersection of roads.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • She'd ridden horseback a lot in her girlhood.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • On weekends, we love to ride horseback through the beautiful countryside.

  • She learns how to ride horseback during her summer camp in Montana.

  • After taking lessons, he was excited to ride horseback for the first time.

Synonyms

to ride
vsto ride horseback
∞ 1.0

To travel by bike, horse, or car

focuses specifically on moving while mounted and directing the animal
to gallop
vsto ride horseback
25 1.9

To move or ride at a horse's fastest speed

is about mounted travel without implying the very fastest pace
to hack
vsto ride horseback
  • Jargon
7 8.1

To ride a horse slowly for pleasure in the countryside

is the neutral action of travelling on and directing a horse
to trot
vsto ride horseback
4 2.1

To make a horse move faster than a walk but slower than a run or ride it at that pace

is the general act of traveling while mounted and not a specific gait
to canter
vsto ride horseback
  • Specialized
3 6.0

To move at a steady three-beat pace between a trot and a gallop

is the general act of traveling while mounted and directing the animal

Antonyms

to dismount
21 4.5

To get off a horse, bicycle, or vehicle

How Fast

to gallop
25 1.9
canter
  • Specialized
4 6.5
to ride horseback
2 3.7
to trot
4 2.1
walk
  • Specialized
15 5.6

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

ride + horseback

The meaning 'to ride on a horse' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'ride' (to be carried on an animal) with 'horseback' (the back of a horse used for riding). This verb + location/vehicle composition follows regular English patterns and is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will be able to infer the meaning.

Etymology

Ride horseback comes from a simple picture: to ride is to sit on an animal and horseback is the horse's 'back', so you are sitting on the horse to travel. That's why ride horseback means 'to ride on a horse'.