Relief | Mean of relief in English Dictionary

/rɪˈliːf/

• Noun
• a pleasant and relaxed feeling that someone has when something unpleasant stops or does not happen
1. I felt such a sense of relief after I finished my thesis.
2. He expressed relief that the crisis was finally over.
3. Much to everyone's relief, the airplane took off without any problems.
4. She breathed a sigh of relief. [=she no longer felt tension, worry, fear, etc.]
5. What a relief it is to be back home.
• the removal or reducing of something that is painful or unpleasant
1. I want relief from my headaches. [=I want my headaches to stop]
2. pain relief
3. Exercise is an excellent source of stress relief.
4. Both candidates promised tax relief for middle-class families.
• things (such as food, money, or medicine) that are given to help people who are victims of a war, earthquake, flood, etc.
1. disaster/famine relief
2. Countries from around the world have been sending relief to the flood victims.
3. Relief workers [=people whose job it is to provide aid] delivered medical supplies.
4. We donated to the relief effort for the hurricane victims.

• money that is given by the government to poor people
1. My father lost his job and we had to go on relief.
• a person or group that replaces another person or group that needs rest or has finished a period of work
1. 30,000 troops will be sent abroad as relief for the deployed soldiers.
2. The relief driver took over after the midway point of the race.
3. a relief crew
• something that is enjoyable and that replaces for a short time something that is boring, unpleasant, or difficult
1. Just one day of sunshine would be a welcome relief from the rainy weather we've been having lately.
2. His character provides a little comic relief in what is otherwise a very serious and dramatic movie.
• a way of decorating wood, stone, metal, etc., with designs that stick out above the surface
1. Each gold coin depicts the queen's head in relief on the front.
• a work of art with designs that stick out above the surface
1. ancient marble reliefs
• a situation in which something is more noticeable when it is compared to something else
1. The trees stood in stark relief against the sky.
2. Her political activism throws the apathy of others into sharp relief. [=makes the apathy of others very noticeable]