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.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words
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.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words
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.

Related Words

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 Their homeland straddles the border, and thousands of tribal members live in Mexico. — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026 The British Film Institute chair has continued to deftly straddle two enormous jobs in European film and TV. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 9 Oct. 2026 Wiener not only leaves behind a richly complex body of work straddling textiles, painting, photographs, and collages, but also a career intricately connected to one of the most important chapters of Austrian art. — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 2 Oct. 2026 Covering Climate Now's project straddles a tightrope between advocacy and journalism, which experts say has pros and cons. — ABC News, 30 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
  • Teddy bears and trains, baseballs and dolls dance through the air into Santa's enormous sack, which sits at Santa's feet, or rather Harry's, who is perched high on the throne at the back of the float, magnificent in white whiskers and red velvet.
    — Danielle Parker, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Every transformer on the grid—from the cylinders perched on utility lines to the big spiky devices at substations—trades voltage for current at a fixed ratio.
    — Alex Pasternack, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of perch
Verb
  • Hemsworth’s work has always spanned genres—just look at his omnivorous DJ sets—but Numbskull positions him as a more traditional songwriter, underscored by the album’s personal, earnest tone.
    — Mehan Jayasuriya, Pitchfork, 22 Oct. 2026
  • No prior bubble spanned so many dimensions of the economy simultaneously—GDP growth, consumer spending, equity markets, debt markets, and venture capital all tethered to a single theme.
    — Ming Lu, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of span
Verb
  • The pope then walked outside greeted and waved at the crowd and shook hands of hospital staff lined up by car to see him off.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Maybe the shooting shook something loose in her and has amplified her worst tendencies.
    — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of shake
Verb
  • While these tracks are endearing enough, Way Dynamic’s real magic sits at the juncture of folk and forlornness, when Young’s guitar is allowed to ramble and his regrets are sharp enough to bruise.
    — Linnie Greene, Pitchfork, 20 Oct. 2026
  • For founders sitting atop a mountain of stock, that beats selling shares, paying tax, and then giving away the cash.
    — Diane Brady, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of sit
Verb
  • Political stratagems in art were shifting in places like New York and Los Angeles, and the Pictures Generation’s ethos began to speak to young Black and brown artists, ultimately intersecting with their desire for representation.
    — Hilton Als, New Yorker, 12 Oct. 2026
  • There are new couples and characters that intersect with them.
    — Katherine Lam, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of intersect
Verb
  • Well, about four songs in, Jackson Browne decides to start his spiel about 'No Nukes' and how there was a nuke plant near Champaign, and everyone should 'duck and cover' or some crap like that.
    — Joe Kinsey OutKick, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Lastly, try ducking into Casey Rubber Stamps, founded in 1979, in the West Village, and a neighborhood fixture since 2003.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 16 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
  • But more are reliant on communication networks like Starlink, which presently comprises a constellation of 11,000 low Earth orbit satellites.
    — Gerard Toal, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
  • These included Villa Viesca, the former summer home of Salvatore and Wanda Ferragamo, and Dimora Ghirlandaio, a resort in Tuscany, both of which comprised the villas where the American envoy stays during the summit.
    — Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of comprise

Phrases Containing straddle

Browse Nearby Words

strabismus
straddle
straddled
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Straddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddle. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of asunder

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All