7 ADJ Rich soil contains large amounts of substances that make it good for growing crops or flowers in. □ Farmers grow rice in the rich soil.
8 ADJ A rich deposit of a mineral or other substance is a large amount of it. □ …the country's rich deposits of the metal, lithium. ● rich|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the richness of the country's mineral deposits.
9 ADJ [ADJ n] If you say that something is a rich vein or source of something such as humour, ideas, or information, you mean that it can provide a lot of that thing. □ The director discovered a rich vein of sentimentality.
10 ADJ Rich smells are strong and very pleasant. Rich colours and sounds are deep and very pleasant. □ …a rich and luxuriously perfumed bath essence. ● rich|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the richness of colour in Gauguin's paintings.
11 ADJ A rich life or history is one that is interesting because it is full of different events and activities. □ A rich and varied cultural life is essential for this couple. ● rich|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] It all adds to the richness of human life.
12 ADJ A rich collection or mixture contains a wide and interesting variety of different things. □ Visitors can view a rich and colorful array of aquatic plants and animals. ● rich|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …a huge country, containing a richness of culture and diversity of landscape.
13 ADJ [v-link ADJ ] If you say that something a person says or does is rich , you are making fun of it because you think it is a surprising and inappropriate thing for them to say or do. [INFORMAL , FEELINGS ] □ Gil says that women can't keep secrets. That's rich, coming from him, the professional sneak.
14 PHRASE If you say that someone is filthy rich or stinking rich , you disapprove of them because they have a lot of money. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ He's stinking rich, and with no more talent than he ever had before. SYNONYMS rich ADJ 1
affluent: Cigarette smoking used to be commoner among affluent people.
prosperous: …the youngest son of a relatively prosperous British family.
wealthy: …a wealthy international businessman.
well-off: My grandparents were quite well-off.
well-to-do: …two well educated girls from well-to-do homes.
-rich /-r I tʃ/ COMB [usu ADJ n] -rich combines with the names of useful or valuable substances to form adjectives that describe something as containing a lot of a particular substance. □ …Angola's northern oil-rich coastline.
rich|ly /r I tʃli/
1 ADV [usu ADV -ed/adj] If something is richly coloured, flavoured, or perfumed, it has a pleasantly strong colour, flavour, or perfume. □ …an opulent display of richly coloured fabrics.
2 ADV [usu ADV -ed/adj] If something is richly decorated, patterned, or furnished, it has a lot of elaborate and beautiful decoration, patterns, or furniture. □ Coffee steamed in the richly decorated silver pot.
3 ADV [ADV before v, ADV -ed] If you say that someone richly deserves an award, success, or victory, you approve of what they have done and feel very strongly that they deserve it. [FEELINGS ] □ He achieved the success he so richly deserved.
4 ADV [ADV before v, ADV -ed] If you are richly rewarded for doing something, you get something very valuable or pleasant in return for doing it. □ It is a difficult book to read, but it richly rewards the effort.
Richter scale /r I ktə r ske I l/ N‑SING The Richter scale is a scale which is used for measuring how severe an earthquake is. □ An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale struck the city yesterday.
rick /r I k/ (ricks , ricking , ricked )
1 VERB If you rick your neck, you hurt it by pulling or twisting it in an unusual way. [BRIT ] □ [V n] Kernaghan missed the United game after he ricked his neck. □ [V -ed] He recovered from a ricked neck. in AM, use wrench 2 N‑COUNT A rick is a large pile of dried grass or straw that is built in a regular shape and kept in a field until it is needed.
rick|ets /r I k I ts/ N‑UNCOUNT Rickets is a disease that children can get when their food does not contain enough Vitamin D. It makes their bones soft and causes their liver and spleen to become too large.
rick|ety /r I k I ti/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A rickety structure or piece of furniture is not very strong or well made, and seems likely to collapse or break. □ Mona climbed the rickety wooden stairway.
rick|shaw /r I kʃɔː/ (rickshaws ) N‑COUNT A rickshaw is a simple vehicle that is used in Asia for carrying passengers. Some rickshaws are pulled by a man who walks or runs in front.
rico|chet /r I kəʃe I , [AM ] -ʃe I / (ricochets , ricocheting , ricocheted ) VERB When a bullet ricochets , it hits a surface and bounces away from it. □ [V prep/adv] The bullets ricocheted off the bonnet and windscreen. [Also V ] ● N‑COUNT Ricochet is also a noun. □ He was wounded in the shoulder by a ricochet.
rid ◆◇◇ /r I d/ (rids , ridding ) The form rid is used in the present tense and is the past tense and past participle of the verb.
1 PHRASE When you get rid of something that you do not want or do not like, you take action so that you no longer have it or suffer from it. □ The owner needs to get rid of the car for financial reasons.
2 PHRASE If you get rid of someone who is causing problems for you or who you do not like, you do something to prevent them affecting you any more, for example by making them leave. □ He believed that his manager wanted to get rid of him for personal reasons.
3 VERB If you rid a place or person of something undesirable or unwanted, you succeed in removing it completely from that place or person. □ [V n + of ] The proposals are an attempt to rid the country of political corruption.