ride \ride\, v. i. imp. rode r=od rid ri^d,
   archaic; p. p. riddenrid, archaic; p. pr.  vb. n.
   riding. as. rimacdan; akin to lg. riden, d. rijden, g.
   reiten, ohg. rimactan, icel. rimacetha, sw. rida, dan.
   ride; cf. l. raeda a carriage, which is from a celtic word.
   cf. road.
   1. to be carried on the back of an animal, as a horse.
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            to-morrow, when ye riden by the way.  --chaucer.
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            let your master ride on before, and do you gallop
            after him.                            --swift.
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   2. to be borne in a carriage; as, to ride in a coach, in a
      car, and the like. see synonym, below.
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            the richest inhabitants exhibited their wealth, not
            by riding in gilden carriages, but by walking the
            streets with trains of servants.      --macaulay.
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   3. to be borne or in a fluid; to float; to lie.
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            men once walked where ships at anchor ride.
                                                  --dryden.
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   4. to be supported in motion; to rest.
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            strong as the exletree
            on which heaven rides.                --shak.
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            on whose foolish honesty
            my practices ride easy               --shak.
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   5. to manage a horse, as an equestrian.
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            he rode, he fenced, he moved with graceful ease.
                                                  --dryden.
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   6. to support a rider, as a horse; to move under the saddle;
      as, a horse rides easy or hard, slow or fast.
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   to ride easy naut., to lie at anchor without violent
      pitching or straining at the cables.

   to ride hard naut., to pitch violently.

   to ride out.
      a to go upon a military expedition. obs. --chaucer.
      b to ride in the open air. colloq.

   to ride to hounds, to ride behind, and near to, the hounds
      in hunting.
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   syn: drive.

   usage: ride, drive. ride originally meant and is so used
          throughout the english bible to be carried on
          horseback or in a vehicle of any kind. at present in
          england, drive is the word applied in most cases to
          progress in a carriage; as, a drive around the park,
          etc.; while ride is appropriated to progress on a
          horse. johnson seems to sanction this distinction by
          giving "to travel on horseback" as the leading sense
          of ride; though he adds "to travel in a vehicle" as a
          secondary sense. this latter use of the word still
          occurs to some extent; as, the queen rides to
          parliament in her coach of state; to ride in an
          omnibus.
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                "will you ride over or drive?" said lord
                willowby to his quest, after breakfast that
                morning.                          --w. black.
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see also:
rode rid ridden riding road to ride easy 
to ride hard to ride out to ride to hounds ride drive