relief

re·lief / riˈlēf/ • n. 1. a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress: much to her relief, she saw the door open. ∎  a cause of or occasion for such a feeling: it was a relief to find somewhere to stay. ∎  the alleviation of pain, discomfort, or distress: tablets for the relief of pain. ∎  a temporary break in a generally tense or tedious situation: the comic characters aren't part of the plot but just light relief. 2. assistance, esp. in the form of food, clothing, or money, given to those in special need or difficulty: raising money for famine relief | [as adj.] relief workers. ∎  a remission of tax normally due: people who donate money to charity will receive tax relief. ∎  chiefly Law the redress of a hardship or grievance. ∎  the action of raising the siege of a beseiged town: the relief of Mafeking. 3. a person or group of people replacing others who have been on duty: [as adj.] the relief nurse was late. ∎  Baseball the role of a relief pitcher. 4. the state of being clearly visible or obvious due to being accentuated in some way: the setting sun threw the snow-covered peaks into relief. ∎  a method of molding, carving, or stamping in which the design stands out from the surface, to a greater (high relief) or lesser (bas-relief) extent. ∎  a piece of sculpture in relief. ∎  a representation of relief given by an arrangement of line or color or shading. ∎  Geog. difference in height from the surrounding terrain; the amount of variation in elevation and slope in a particular area. PHRASES: in relief 1. Art carved, molded, or stamped so as to stand out from the surface. 2. Baseball acting as a replacement pitcher. on relief receiving government assistance because of need. ORIGIN: late Middle English: from Old French, from relever ‘raise up, relieve,’ from Latin relevare ‘raise again, alleviate.’