relieve

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /rɪˈliːv/

• Audio (US)

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Verb

Plain form relieve

Third-person singular relieves

Past tense relieved

Past participle relieved

Present participle relieving

1. If you relieve pain, pressure, sadness, difficulty, etc., you reduce it.

   These drugs are used to relieve pain.

   Adding new nurses will relieve pressure on the hospital.

   The new roads only relieved the traffic for a few months.

2. If you relieve yourself, you urinate.

   He went behind a tree to relieve himself.

3. If you relieve somebody, you release them from duty, often by taking their place.

   When I arrived at 11:00 to relieve the guard, he was asleep.

   After the failure, the manager was relieved of his duties.

Related words

• relief