Definition of “relief”

noun

1. a feeling of cheerfulness or optimism that follows the removal of anxiety, pain, or distress  ⇒ I breathed a sigh of relief 
2. deliverance from or alleviation of anxiety, pain, distress, etc
3. 1. help or assistance, as to the poor, needy, or distressed
   2. ((as modifier)  ⇒ relief work 
4. short for tax relief
5. something that affords a diversion from monotony
6. a person who replaces or relieves another at some task or duty
7. a bus, shuttle plane, etc, that carries additional passengers when a scheduled service is full
8. a road (relief road) carrying traffic round an urban area; bypass
9. 1. the act of freeing a beleaguered town, fortress, etc  ⇒ the relief of Mafeking 
   2. ((as modifier)  ⇒ a relief column 
10. relievorilievosculpture architecture 
    1. the projection of forms or figures from a flat ground, so that they are partly or wholly free of it
    2. a piece of work of this kind
11. a printing process, such as engraving, letterpress, etc, that employs raised surfaces from which ink is transferred to the paper
12. any vivid effect resulting from contrast  ⇒ comic relief 
13. variation in altitude in an area; difference between highest and lowest level  ⇒ a region of low relief 
14. mechanical engineering the removal of the surface material of a bearing area to allow the access of lubricating fluid
15. law redress of a grievance or hardship  ⇒ to seek relief through the courts 
16. European history a succession of payments made by an heir to a fief to his lord: the size of the relief was determined by the lord within bounds set by custom
17. See on relief