bestride

verb

be·​stride bi-ˈstrīd 

bē-

bestrode bi-ˈstrōd 

bē-

; bestridden bi-ˈstri-dᵊn 

bē-

; bestriding bi-ˈstrī-diŋ 

bē-

transitive verb

1

: to ride, sit, or stand astride : straddle

2

: to tower over : dominate

the bloated bureaucracy that bestrides us all

—Edward Ney

3

archaic : to stride across

Examples of bestride in a Sentence

a giant that bestrode the river

Recent Examples on the Web

In a unipolar world, Washington might have been able to be all things in all regions, like a colossus bestriding the world, but this is wholly untenable in an era of great-power competition. —Elbridge Colby, Foreign Affairs, 10 Dec. 2019

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

Word History

First Known Use

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

Kids Definition

bestride

verb

be·​stride bi-ˈstrīd 

bestrode -ˈstrōd  ; bestridden -ˈstrid-ən  ; bestriding -ˈstrīd-iŋ 

: to ride, sit, or stand with one leg on each side of