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ride shotgun - 4 dictionary results

ride

  [rahyd] verb, rode or (Archaic) rid; rid⋅den or (Archaic) rid; rid⋅ing; noun
Use ride shotgun in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to sit on and manage a horse or other animal in motion; be carried on the back of an animal.
2. to be borne along on or in a vehicle or other kind of conveyance.
3. to move or float on the water: the surfboarders riding on the crests of the waves.
4. to move along in any way; be carried or supported: He is riding along on his friend's success. Distress is riding among the people.
5. to have a specified character for riding purposes: The car rides smoothly.
6. to be conditioned; depend (usually fol. by on): All his hopes are riding on getting that promotion.
7. Informal. to continue without interruption or interference: He decided to let the bet ride.
8. to be carried on something, as a litter, a person's shoulders, or the like.
9. to work or move up from the proper place or position (usually fol. by up): Her skirt rode up above her knees.
10. to extend or project over something, as the edge of one thing over the edge of another thing.
11. to turn or rest on something: the great globe of the world riding on its axis.
12. to appear to float in space, as a heavenly body: A blood-red moon rode in the cloudless sky.
13. to lie at anchor, as a ship.
–verb (used with object)
14. to sit on and manage (a horse, bicycle, etc.) so as to be carried along.
15. to sit or move along on (something); be carried or borne along on: The ship rode the waves. We ride a bus.
16. to ride over, along, or through (a road, boundary, region, etc.); traverse.
17. to ridicule or harass persistently: The boys keep riding him about his poor grades.
18. to control, dominate, or tyrannize over: a man ridden by fear; a country that is ridden by a power-mad dictator.
19. to cause to ride.
20. to carry (a person) on something as if on a horse: He rode the child about on his back.
21. to execute by riding: to ride a race.
22. to rest on, esp. by overlapping.
23. to keep (a vessel) at anchor or moored.
24. Jazz. to play improvisations on (a melody).
–noun
25. a journey or excursion on a horse, camel, etc., or on or in a vehicle.
26. a means of or arrangement for transportation by motor vehicle: We'll handle rides to be sure everyone gets home quickly.
27. the vehicle used for transportation: I've got to hang up now—my ride's here.
28. a vehicle or device, as a Ferris wheel, roller coaster, or merry-go-round, on which people ride for amusement.
29. a way, road, etc., made esp. for riding.
—Verb phrase
30. ride out,
a. to sustain (a gale, storm, etc.) without damage, as while riding at anchor.
b. to sustain or endure successfully.
—Idioms
31. ride down,
a. to trample or overturn by riding upon or against.
b. to ride up to; overtake; capture: The posse rode down the escaping bank robber.
c. Nautical. to bear down upon (a rope of a tackle) with all one's weight.
32. ride for a fall, to conduct oneself so as to invite misfortune or injury.
33. ride herd on. herd 1 (def. 6).
34. ride shotgun. shotgun (def. 9).
35. ride the beam, Aeronautics. to fly along the course indicated by a radio beam.
36. take for a ride, Slang.
a. to murder, esp. by abducting the victim for that purpose.
b. to deceive; trick: It was obvious to everyone but me that I was being taken for a ride.
Origin:
bef. 900; 1915–20 for def. 17; ME riden (v.), OE rīdan; c. OFris rīda, G reiten, ON rītha; akin to OIr ríad journey (cf. palfrey, rheda ). See road

Synonyms:
2. See drive.

shot⋅gun

  [shot-guhn] noun, adjective, verb, -gunned, -gun⋅ning.
–noun
1. a smoothbore gun for firing small shot to kill birds and small quadrupeds, though often used with buckshot to kill larger animals.
2. Football. an offensive formation, designed primarily for passing situations, in which the backfield is spread out with the quarterback positioned a few yards behind the center and the other backs, as potential pass receivers, positioned as slotbacks or flankers.
–adjective
3. of, pertaining to, used in, or carried out with a shotgun: a shotgun murder; shotgun pellets.
4. covering a wide area in an irregularly effective manner without concern for details or particulars; tending to be all-inclusive, nonselective, and haphazard; indiscriminate in choice and indifferent to specific results: He favored the shotgun approach in his political attacks.
5. seeking a desired result through the use or inclusion of a wide variety of elements.
6. having all the rooms opening one into the next in a line from front to back: shotgun apartment; shotgun cottage.
7. gained or characterized by coercive methods.
–verb (used with object)
8. to fire a shotgun at.
—Idiom
9. ride shotgun,
a. (formerly) to ride atop a stagecoach as a shotgun-bearing guard.
b. to protect or keep a watchful eye on something: riding shotgun over the nation's economy.
Origin:
1770–80, Americanism; shot 1 + gun 1
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ride shotgun
ride   (rīd)   
v.   rode (rōd), rid·den (rĭd'n), rid·ing, rides

v.   intr.
  1. To be carried or conveyed, as in a vehicle or on horseback.
  2. To travel over a surface: This car rides well.
  3. To move by way of an intangible force or impetus; move as if on water: The President rode into office on a tide of discontent.
  4. Nautical To lie at anchor: battleships riding at the mouth of the estuary.
  5. To seem to float: The moon was riding among the clouds.
  6. To be sustained or supported on a pivot, axle, or other point.
  7. To be contingent; depend: The final outcome rides on the results of the election.
  8. To continue without interference: Let the matter ride.
  9. To work or move from the proper place, especially on the body: pants that ride up.
v.   tr.
  1. To sit on and move in a given direction: rode a motorcycle to town; ride a horse to the village.
  2. To travel over, along, or through: ride the highways.
  3. To be supported or carried on: a swimmer riding the waves.
  4. To take part in or do by riding: He rode his last race.
  5. To cause to ride, especially to cause to be carried.
  6. Nautical To keep (a vessel) at anchor.
  7. Informal
    1. To tease or ridicule.
    2. To harass with persistent carping and criticism.
  8. To keep partially engaged by slightly depressing a pedal with the foot: Don't ride the clutch or the brakes.
n.  
  1. The act or an instance of riding, as in a vehicle or on an animal.
  2. A path made for riding on horseback, especially through woodlands.
  3. A device, such as one at an amusement park, that one rides for pleasure or excitement.
  4. A means of transportation: waiting for her ride to come.
Phrasal Verb(s):
ride outTo survive or outlast: rode out the storm.

Idiom(s):
ride for a fallTo court danger or disaster.

Idiom(s):
ride herd onTo keep watch or control over.

Idiom(s):
ride highTo experience success.

Idiom(s):
ride shotgun
  1. To guard a person or thing while in transit.
  2. Slang To ride in the front passenger seat of a car or truck.

Idiom(s):
take for a ride Slang
  1. To deceive or swindle: an author who tried to take his publisher for a ride.
  2. To transport to a place and kill.

[Middle English riden, from Old English rīdan; see reidh- in Indo-European roots.]
rid'a·ble, ride'a·ble adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

ride shotgun

Guard someone or something while in transit, as in The reporter found himself in the odd position of riding shotgun for an accused mobster. This term alludes to the armed defender of a stagecoach who sat beside the driver to protect against marauders and bandits. Later it was transferred to anyone riding in the front passenger seat of a motor vehicle, as well as to the more general function of protection. [Mid-1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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