From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishrelieve somebody of something phrasal verb1 formalHELP to help someone by taking something from them, especially a job they do not want to do or something heavy that they are carrying A secretary was hired to relieve her of some of the administrative work. He rose and relieved her of her bags.2 relieve somebody of their post/duties/command etc formalLEAVE A JOB OR ORGANIZATION to take away someone’s job because they have done something wrong After the defeat General Meyer was relieved of his command.3 STEALto steal something from someone – used humorously A couple of guys relieved him of his wallet. → relieve→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
relieve of • The effect of this was to relieve the debtor of all liability for their debts.• In March 1985 two important changes on the Soviet side helped to relieve the image of an unremitting East-West struggle.• Estrogen replacement relieves such symptoms of menopause as hot flashes and night sweats, reduces bone loss and relieves vaginal dryness.• A study suggests Prozac relieves symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. 9 -- U. S. Marines rescue Capt.• Marijuana is said to relieve some of the adverse side effects of those diseases.• It is both logical and touching, and relieves the movie of the awkwardness apparent in the earlier efforts.• Such comprehensive supervision and reporting can actually reduce client costs, and relieve clients of the problems inherent in cleaning any premises.• To relieve policyholders of this burden, we have now index-linked everyone's cover.From Longman Business Dictionaryrelieve somebody of something phrasal verb [transitive]1to help someone by taking from them something that they find difficult or unpleasantThe transaction will relieve the company of $19.4 million in debt.2relieve somebody of their job/post etcHUMAN RESOURCES to take away someone’s job because they have done it badly or done something wrongThe film company has suspended production of the movie and relieved the director of his job. → relieve→ See Verb table 