Definition of "riddance"

riddance

/ˈɹɪdəns/

noun
countable and uncountable, plural riddances
1. The act of being rid of something; deliverance
  Quotations
  A gentle riddance. Draw the curtains, go.Let all of his complexion choose me so.
  c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act II, scene vii]
  And this kind of riddance is the most pleasant to listen to of all,
  2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 230c
2. The earth thrown up by a burrowing animal.