4-letter words starting with r
- rhus — any shrub or small tree of the anacardiaceous genus Rhus, several species of which are cultivated as ornamentals for their foliage, which assumes brilliant colours in autumn
- rhys — Jean (Ellen Gwendolen Rees Williams) 1890–1979, English novelist, born in Dominica.
- riad — a traditional Moroccan house, built around an interior garden
- rial — rose noble.
- riba — (in Islam) interest or usury, as forbidden by the Koran
- ribs — one of a series of curved bones that are articulated with the vertebrae and occur in pairs, 12 in humans, on each side of the vertebrate body, certain pairs being connected with the sternum and forming the thoracic wall.
- rice — Anne, born 1941, U.S. novelist.
- rich — having wealth or great possessions; abundantly supplied with resources, means, or funds; wealthy: a rich man; a rich nation.
- rick — a male given name, form of Eric or Richard.
- rico — Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act: a U.S. law, enacted in 1970, allowing victims of organized crime to sue those responsible for punitive damages.
- rics — Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
- ride — to sit on and manage a horse or other animal in motion; be carried on the back of an animal.
- rids — to clear, disencumber, or free of something objectionable (usually followed by of): I want to rid the house of mice. In my opinion, you'd be wise to rid yourself of the smoking habit.
- riel — Louis, 1844–85, Canadian revolutionary.
- riem — a strip of hide which has been treated to preserve it before making it into leather
- rife — of common or frequent occurrence; prevalent; in widespread existence, activity, or use: Crime is rife in the slum areas of our cities.
- riff — Er [er] /ɛr/ (Show IPA) a mountainous coastal region in N Morocco.
- rift — an opening made by splitting, cleaving, etc.; fissure; cleft; chink.
- riga — a republic in N Europe, on the Baltic, S of Estonia, an independent state 1918–40; annexed by the Soviet Union 1940; regained independence 1991. 25,395 sq. mi. (63,700 sq. km). Capital: Riga.
- rigg — a type of shark often used for meat
- rigi — a mountain in central Switzerland, near the Lake of Lucerne. 5906 feet (1800 meters).
- riis — Jacob August, 1849–1914, U.S. journalist and social reformer, born in Denmark.
- rijn — the Rhine.
- rile — to irritate or vex.
- rill — any of certain long, narrow, straight or sinuous trenches or valleys observed on the surface of the moon.
- rima — a female given name.
- rime — identity in sound of some part, especially the end, of words or lines of verse.
- rims — the outer edge, border, margin, or brink of something, especially of a circular object.
- rimy — covered with rime.
- rina — a female given name.
- rind — a piece of iron running across an upper millstone as a support.
- ring — a male given name.
- rink — a smooth expanse of ice for ice-skating, often artificially prepared and inside a building or arena.
- riot — a noisy, violent public disorder caused by a group or crowd of persons, as by a crowd protesting against another group, a government policy, etc., in the streets.
- ripe — Réseaux IP Européens
- ripp — a handful of grain
- risc — Reduced Instruction Set Computer
- rise — to get up from a lying, sitting, or kneeling posture; assume an upright position: She rose and walked over to greet me. With great effort he rose to his knees.
- risk — exposure to the chance of injury or loss; a hazard or dangerous chance: It's not worth the risk.
- risp — to rasp or to grate
- riss — the third major Pleistocene glaciation in Alpine Europe
- rit. — ritardando
- rita — a female given name, form of Margarita.
- rite — a formal or ceremonial act or procedure prescribed or customary in religious or other solemn use: rites of baptism; sacrificial rites.
- ritl — Wireless Local Loop
- ritz — ostentatious or pretentious display.
- riv. — river
- riva — a cleft in rock
- rive — to tear or rend apart: to rive meat from a bone.
- rivo — an informal toast or drinking cry