\ ə-ˈstrīd 
\
\Definition of astride
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : with one leg on each side : astride a horse
she rode astride, not sidesaddle
2 : with the legs stretched wide apart
standing astride
astride
prepositionDefinition of astride (Entry 2 of 2)
Examples of astride in a Sentence
Preposition
She was sitting astride a horse.
The town lies astride a narrow river.
Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb The boy had his grandmother’s smile, a perched grin with flushed cheeks astride.
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Kenneth R. Rosen, Wired, "Death, Love, and the Solace of a Million Motorcycle Parts," 17 Nov. 2020 Bonheur wore her hair short, rode astride instead of sidesaddle, learned how to shoot a gun and occasionally hunted rabbits.
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Claudine Doury, Smithsonian Magazine, "The Redemption of Rosa Bonheur," 20 Oct. 2020 But these massive irrigation systems don’t sit astride deep green circles of alfalfa.
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AZCentral.com, "These 7 industrial farm operations are draining Arizona's aquifers, and no one knows exactly how much they're taking," 5 Dec. 2019 Do guests even have to like horses, much less get astride one?
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Janet Fullwood, The Mercury News, "Arizona getaway: Dude ranches, horses and Wild West adventure," 26 Aug. 2019 One, George Washington astride a horse, is burned in profile into a wooden surface, glass vessels tumbling to the floor.
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Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, "Getting real in a stirring show at Mass MoCA," 13 June 2019 Debt problems in Hunan, a rich agricultural area astride important transport routes, aren’t as egregious as many northern and western provinces saddled with resource and rust-belt industries.
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Chao Deng, WSJ, "China Rebukes Local Officials Over Debt Pile," 17 Sep. 2018 The base lies astride important shipping routes that fuel the Chinese economy and gives China an important presence into Africa and the Middle East.
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Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Satellite Images Spy China's First Overseas Military Base," 9 Nov. 2017 Larry Page, one of the co-founders of Google, has put his money into several such projects, including the Kitty Hawk Flyer, which the rider sits astride much like a flying motorcycle.
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The Economist, "Free as a birdPassenger drones are a better kind of flying car," 8 Mar. 2018 Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition On a recent gray morning, John Brown Gordon sat astride his horse outside Georgia’s capitol building.
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Charles Bethea, The New Yorker, "Toppling the Statues, Virtually," 28 Dec. 2020 The counter boasts an image of an undersea nymph astride a horse.
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Fox News, "Pompeii dig uncovers secrets from unearthed fast-food restaurant," 28 Dec. 2020 Plant and animal specialists are still analyzing remains from the site, with its counter frescoed with a figure of an undersea nymph astride a horse.
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Frances D'emilio, chicagotribune.com, "Mallards, goats, snails, wine: Archaeologists dig up a fast-food spot in Pompeii," 26 Dec. 2020 The other statue features an unidentified Black man in modern urban attire astride a muscular horse.
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History & Culture, "Here’s what might replace America’s disappearing Confederate monuments," 14 Dec. 2020 The first is Around the World With Santa, which has the man of the season astride his sleigh against a wintery backdrop — and behind a glass wall.
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Adam Tschorn, Los Angeles Times, "Yes, there will be socially distanced Santa photo opportunities in L.A.," 1 Dec. 2020 The archangel Michael, in his dashing garment with rainbow wings, stands astride the narrow earthly realm, where the desperate cry out to be saved.
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Sebastian Smee, Washington Post, "Van Eyck included a mind-blowing detail in these religious panels," 14 Oct. 2020 On a scraggly patch of grass astride the Grand Central Parkway, a screen had been set up.
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Washington Post, "Drive-ins become the venue of choice as coronavirus takes a toll on film festivals," 16 Oct. 2020 Before the current crisis, in fact, Burkina Faso may have been best known for hosting Africa’s largest and most prestigious film festival, whose statuette — the golden Stallion of Yennenga — is a 12th-century princess astride a horse.
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Nick Turse, New York Times, "How One of the Most Stable Nations in West Africa Descended Into Mayhem," 15 Oct. 2020
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'astride.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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Time Traveler for astride
The first known use of astride was in 1614
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