straddle

verb

Definition of straddlenext
1
as in to perch
to be in or move into a seated or standing position with your legs on either side of (something) She straddled the horse and waited for her riding partner to mount.

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2
as in to span
to be on both sides of (something) The town straddles the river. The movie straddles the line between comedy and drama.

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3
as in to shake
to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something) The politician straddled the issue for weeks.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of straddle Born in Tunisia and raised in Italy, Talem’s life and acting career has straddled Europe and the Middle East. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2026 Bajo Chiquito sits on the Tuquesa River at the northern end of the Darién Gap, the more than sixty-mile stretch of formidable terrain and riverine forest straddling Panama and Colombia. — Belén Fernández, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 My career straddled the introduction of video reviews, and being able to move on from major errors was a crucial part of the job. — Graham Scott, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026 Fraying friendship Thanks to a geographic quirk, Louis Patenaude’s freight business straddles the border between the US and Canada. — Daniel Wine, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for straddle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddle
  1. perch
  2. span
  3. shake
  4. sit
  5. intersect
  6. duck
  7. bestride
  8. comprise
Verb
  • The rooms Every single one of the 75 rooms is ocean-facing, with floor to ceiling sliding glass doors framing the view, and leading to private terraces perched above the mangroves.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The country music icon and her husband, Carl Dean, acquired the third-acre spread perched just above the Sunset Strip in December 1985 for $750,000.
    — Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of perch
Verb
  • The rooms Six spacious room types span a minimum of 475 square feet.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The entries span genres from horror and thriller to family drama and documentary, tackling subjects including Algeria’s civil conflict, Lebanon’s banking crisis, ISIS, migrant-worker exploitation, and life in Gaza.
    — Melissa Hancock, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of span
Verb
  • The event, televised by dozens of channels across Serbia, capped a week of Vucic touring towns and villages in an apparent bid to shore up his popularity that's been shaken after almost two years of sustained anti-government protests.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026
  • Bottle tops popped, can tabs cracked, and cocktail shakers shook all day Thursday at the Aftershock music festival at Sacramento’s Discovery Park.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • The scale of the award also shows where the manufacturing bottleneck can sit inside a missile program.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 6 Oct. 2026
  • Hartnett Holder & Co restaurant offers a children’s menu, and the hotel provides cots, baby monitors and a baby sitting service if required.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of sit
Verb
  • This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture.
    — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • From 2021 to 2022, NFT trading intersected with the contemporary art world most dramatically at major auction houses.
    — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of intersect
Verb
  • During her October 2025 testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Pam Bondi repeatedly ducked questions on everything from the Epstein files to the decision to prosecute former FBI director James Comey.
    — David Wippman, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Malick Yalcouye uses his space just outside the box not to shoot but to draw Pedro Neto and Hato out before slipping a pass through to Gross, who has ducked in behind Palmer.
    — Liam Twomey, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of duck
Verb
  • His career essentially bestrides the slow-to-grow Before Times and the apparent soccer paradise of today, which was fortified by remarkable facilities, boosted by an ideal central location and forged by an eagerly welcoming host city that slugged above its weight to make this happen.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 8 Apr. 2026
  • The Lone Star State is already a literal powerhouse that bestrides domestic energy production.
    — Dallas Morning News, Dallas Morning News, 15 Mar. 2026
Definition of bestride
Verb
  • The series, comprising six hour-long episodes, is produced by Bright Entertainment for British broadcaster ITV.
    — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
  • This network, which comprises 14% of city streets where 75% of crashes occur, was updated in the new Vision Zero action plan.
    — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of comprise

Phrases Containing straddle

Browse Nearby Words

strabismus
straddle
straddled
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Cite this Entry

“Straddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddle. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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