bestride

verb

be·​stride bi-ˈstrīd How to pronounce bestride (audio)
bē-
bestrode bi-ˈstrōd How to pronounce bestride (audio)
bē-
; bestridden bi-ˈstri-dᵊn How to pronounce bestride (audio)
bē-
; bestriding bi-ˈstrī-diŋ How to pronounce bestride (audio)
bē-

transitive verb

1
: to ride, sit, or stand astride : straddle
2
: to tower over : dominate
the bloated bureaucracy that bestrides us allEdward Ney
3
archaic : to stride across

Examples of bestride in a Sentence

a giant that bestrode the river
Recent Examples on the Web Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other Brexiteers like to think of the United Kingdom as that lone actor, bestriding the international stage. David Reynolds, Foreign Affairs, 8 May 2020 In a streaming world, where more than half of American homes no longer have a cable subscription, there is no way for a president to rhetorically bestride the narrow world like a Colossus. Walter Shapiro, The New Republic, 3 July 2023 Russian mercenaries with the same shadowy Wagner Group now fighting in Ukraine bestride the Central African Republic, a country rich in gold and diamonds. Roger Cohen Mauricio Lima, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2022 His book is an attempt at redeeming a career wrecked by Robert Mueller’s prosecutors, who portrayed him as one of the most corrupt characters to ever bestride Washington. Franklin Foer, The Atlantic, 16 Aug. 2022 With the new Gilded Age now fully in swing, we are ruled by a class of philosopher kings who bestride the business and political worlds. Michael Taylor, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Jan. 2022 The alternative is to continue to bestride both systems and accept the consequence that trust—arguably the most important attribute of a communication tool like Zoom—is at the mercy of the Chinese Communist Party. The Economist, 20 June 2020 The offices are spooky-minimalist, and a colossal statue of a little girl bestrides the campus, her eyes glassy and piercing like a nightmare doll’s. James Poniewozik, New York Times, 4 Mar. 2020 His father spent years on the run and three uncles were sent to labour camps for opposing the dictatorship of Mathieu Kérékou, one of dozens of autocrats who bestrode Africa in the 1970s and 1980s. The Economist, 5 Mar. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bestride.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bestride was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near bestride

Cite this Entry

“Bestride.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bestride. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bestride

verb
be·​stride bi-ˈstrīd How to pronounce bestride (audio)
bestrode -ˈstrōd How to pronounce bestride (audio) ; bestridden -ˈstrid-ən How to pronounce bestride (audio) ; bestriding -ˈstrīd-iŋ How to pronounce bestride (audio)
: to ride, sit, or stand with one leg on each side of

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