Definition of "rid"

Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?

1170, King Henry II (offhand remark)

If the Government believes that part of the railways' salvation is to be found in ridding them of extraneous concerns, it should have had the courage either to close the railway works down as quickly as possible, or to hive them off as an entirely separate concern, [...].

1964 May, “News and Comment: Minister hamstrings BR workshops”, in Modern Railways, page 291

All the billions in the world and Manchester City still cannot rid themselves of the most persistent thorn in their side.

2014 March 9, Jacob Steinberg, “Wigan shock Manchester City in FA Cup again to reach semi-finals”, in The Guardian

Worst of all were the leeches. The soldiers had managed to rid them from the camp interiors, but once you ventured out on patrol and into the wetlands, they were everywhere.

2008, John H. Goodwin, The Reluctant Spy, page 293

He rid to the end of the village, where he alighted and ſent a man thence to Mr. Tuſher with a meſſage that a gentleman of London would ſpeak to him on urgent buſineſs.

1852, William Makepeace Thackeray, “I Go on the Vigo Bay Expedition, Taste Salt Water and Smell Powder”, in The History of Henry Esmond, Esq. […] , volume II, London: […] Smith, Elder, & Company, […], page 96

"He would have rid that horse, too," pa says, "if I hadn't a stopped him. A durn spotted critter wilder than a catty-mount. A deliberate flouting of her and me."

1930, William Faulkner, As I Lay Dying, Library of America, published 1985, page 67