relief

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

noun

/rɪˈliːf/

singular	relief
plural	reliefs

Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

1
[singular/uncountable] a relaxed happy feeling that you get because something bad has not happened or a bad situation has ended
It's a huge relief to know that everyone is safe.
to someone's relief:
To her relief, someone had found the keys and handed them in.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
2
[uncountable] the reduction of pain or the effects of an illness
It's a drug commonly prescribed for pain relief.
relief from:
The patients experienced no relief from their symptoms.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
3
[uncountable] food, clothes, and money given to people who are in urgent need of help, for example because of a war or other bad situation
flood/disaster/earthquake relief
a shipment of relief supplies bound for the Sudan
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
4
[countable] art a design or sculpture consisting of a raised surface on a flat background
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
5
[uncountable] the right not to have to pay the full amount of tax or interest on an amount of money
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
6
[singular] a person or group that replaces another person or group that is away from their job or has finished a period of duty
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
1. a.
  [only before noun] relating to a person or group that temporarily replaces another person or group in their job
  the relief crew
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
7
[uncountable] military help for an army or place that is being attacked or surrounded
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
8
[singular/uncountable] a temporary improvement in or rest from a situation that is difficult or boring, or something that provides this
The storms continued all night, and the next morning brought no relief.
welcome/much-needed relief:
Last night's unexpected win will bring much-needed relief to the team's manager.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
See also light relief

phrases

in relief
sticking out above a flat background
in high/low relief (=sticking out a lot/a little):
The images of the children are carved in high relief.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief
put/throw something into (sharp/stark) relief
to make something very obvious
The episode throws into sharp relief the enormous cultural divide between these two communities.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of relief

This is the British English definition of relief. View American English definition of relief.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

charticle

a news article that consists of a chart … and only has a small amount of text

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

electron

a part of an atom that moves around the nucleus (=centre) and has a negative electrical charge

Word of the Day

Open Dictionary

never event

an event that should never occur in a healthcare setting …

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog

Did you know?