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 The tower is to fill the West Hollywood portion of the former Cemex Hollywood Concrete Plant site, which straddles the city border with Los Angeles. — Roger Vincent, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 For me, the iPhone Duo straddles a similar line between the iPhone and the iPad. — ArsTechnica, 27 Oct. 2026 The logistical complications of a facility that straddles the border are unavoidable. — Omar Jimenez, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2026 Meta has primarily marketed its agent toward consumers, while OpenAI's product straddles both the enterprise and consumer markets. — Ashley Capoot, CNBC, 21 Oct. 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 building that collapsed had been perched at the edge of a lot where another one-story building had been torn down for a construction project.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Firefighters can't blindly send a drone over a ridgeline without someone perched on top of a mountain or on the other side to watch them and communicate with the pilots.
    — Halle Zander, NPR, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of perch
Verb
  • The model was trained on more than 107 million individual cell profiles from human and mouse samples spanning 68 tissues.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 12 Nov. 2026
  • Dylan Harper spanned the entire court to score in an instant.
    — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 12 Nov. 2026
Definition of span
Verb
  • Soon after, a warden shook Guardado and shouted his name, but got no response and a medic then pronounced him dead.
    — KIM CHANDLER, Arkansas Online, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Ueno Bank’s failure has locked nearly half the country’s 6 million people out of their savings, shaking a country long viewed as one of South America’s more stable economies.
    — Isabel Debre, Los Angeles Times, 6 Nov. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • But the end of daylight saving time also means an earlier sunset, which doesn't always sit right with people.
    — Amanda Callahan, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • In this room, with white carpet, marble arches and marble skirting, church members sit and quietly meditate or pray beneath a crystal chandelier.
    — Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of sit
Verb
  • On my first day in town, our route intersects that of a lunchtime protest march.
    — Fred A. Bernstein, Architectural Digest, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Lloyd and Wash never intersected — Wash served as the defensive coordinator there from 2016 to 2020, leaving two years prior to Lloyd’s drafting — but Lloyd heard flattering stories from his friends and teammates.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of intersect
Verb
  • Unlike many of their indie-rock peers, Pavement rejected every major-label caller, ducking outsize contracts.
    — Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Behind the clock tower, the actors ducked and cowered as wind and dust washed over them, flattening their hair and sending papers flying.
    — Matt Alt, New Yorker, 8 Nov. 2026
Definition of duck
Verb
  • But right here, right now should be the prime directive while the two-time MVP and three-time Super Bowl MVP bestrides the NFL.
    — Vahe Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 11 Nov. 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
  • Detroit fans, wearing blue T-shirts and jerseys, might have comprised 50%, and possibly more, of the fans at Hard Rock Stadium.
    — Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 8 Nov. 2026
  • This may have comprised safeguards for and an expansion of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
    — Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Nov. 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 13 Nov. 2026.

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