Meaning & use
riddance
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountable
A feeling of relief when an unwanted person or thing is gone.
Grammar: Almost always used in the fixed phrase 'good riddance'. It is not used with 'a' or in the plural.
Patterns
- good riddance
- good riddance to someone/something
He finally moved out, and I say good riddance.
Good riddance to that old car—it caused nothing but trouble.
She lost her job, but she thought, 'Good riddance to bad rubbish.'
Common combinations
- good riddance
- When the noisy neighbors left, we all said good riddance.
- good riddance to bad rubbish
- He was a troublemaker, so good riddance to bad rubbish.
- say good riddance
- The manager said good riddance when the difficult client left.
Synonyms and how they differ
- relief
- Relief is a general feeling when something unpleasant ends; riddance is only used in the phrase 'good riddance' about someone or something leaving.
Word family
- rid verb
- To remove or free yourself from something unwanted.
Commonly confused: riddance or riddance?
riddance vs riddance
Do not confuse with 'riddance' and 'riddle' (a puzzling question). They look similar but are unrelated.
Practice
Complete the sentence: 'The old sofa was finally taken away, and my mother said, "_____"'
Choose one answer.
The fixed expression is 'good riddance', used alone or with 'to' plus the thing removed. 'A riddance' and 'riddances' are not used because 'riddance' is uncountable and almost always part of this phrase.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “riddance”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.