ride down

Verb

ride down (third-person singular simple present rides down, present participle riding down, simple past rode down, past participle ridden down)

1. (idiomatic, transitive) To cause (a horse) to fall when riding.
2. (transitive) To catch or catch up with (someone) by chasing on horseback or in a vehicle.
   • Then the lot of them rode him down for sport, striking him with their coup sticks.1950, Dorothy M. Johnson, A Man Called Horse; in Indian Country, London: Corgi, 1961, page 171
3. To bear down, as on a halyard when hoisting a sail.
4. (transitive) To treat with severity.
5. (transitive) To withstand deceleration from (forces of impact).
   • This fully restrained passenger rode down the impact forces with a much lower level of injuries than could be expected in a collision of this severity. His major injury was an AIS 2 contusion which resulted from the restraint shoulder strap. Had he been unrestrained, the expected injury from...1986 July 28, National Transportation Safety Board, “CASE 24 (ATL-85-H-OR21)”, in Safety Study: Performance of Lap Belts in 26 Frontal Crashes, archived from the original on 08 Jul 2022, page 168