1
as in perched
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 spanned
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 shook
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 straddled
Baez threw the driver on the ground, straddled him and pressed a gun to his back.
—
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
12 June 2026
Pelosi then straddled the gator’s tail and got on top of the animal while the officer continued to restrain in the front, the video showed.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Throughout much of his career, Bruno Mars has straddled the line between pop and R&B.
—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Then came last year’s The Most Dear and The Future, a slender collection of tracks that straddled a line between pop, ambient, folk, and dance with an air of rustic mysticism that seemed to travel through music circles like gossip bursting from localized containment.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
2 June 2026
The song's music video, filmed on the USS Missouri, was the first ever to be banned from MTV, because the superstar straddled a cannon on the battleship and also wore a barely-there, now-iconic leotard.
—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
20 May 2026
Her husband then climbed on top of her and straddled her with his legs across her waist.
—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
Another is the rise in millennials, straddled by student loan debt and lower wages than their parents, moving out later or moving back home after school.
—
Beth Ann Mayer,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the first-run leader, straddled a gate and was out.
—
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Kerry Burke,
New York Daily News,
12 June 2026
Pelosi then straddled the gator’s tail and got on top of the animal while the officer continued to restrain in the front, the video showed.
—
Angie Dimichele,
Sun Sentinel,
12 June 2026
Throughout much of his career, Bruno Mars has straddled the line between pop and R&B.
—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
Then came last year’s The Most Dear and The Future, a slender collection of tracks that straddled a line between pop, ambient, folk, and dance with an air of rustic mysticism that seemed to travel through music circles like gossip bursting from localized containment.
—
Jeff Ihaza,
Rolling Stone,
2 June 2026
The song's music video, filmed on the USS Missouri, was the first ever to be banned from MTV, because the superstar straddled a cannon on the battleship and also wore a barely-there, now-iconic leotard.
—
Andrea Wurzburger,
PEOPLE,
20 May 2026
Her husband then climbed on top of her and straddled her with his legs across her waist.
—
Nicki Brown,
CNN Money,
4 Apr. 2026
Another is the rise in millennials, straddled by student loan debt and lower wages than their parents, moving out later or moving back home after school.
—
Beth Ann Mayer,
Parents,
3 Mar. 2026
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath, the first-run leader, straddled a gate and was out.
—
ABC News,
16 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddled
Verb
-
Many of these restaurants will open during January’s launch phase; meanwhile, lunch at Tapasake lives up to its extraordinary surroundings, perched on The Link’s broad rooftop, sheltered between the two towers.
-
It would have been perched on the ship’s grand staircase, and is the only one to have been recovered from the wreckage.
Verb
-
The search spanned roughly 2,400 square miles and involved officials from the Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and Air Force who used three surface ships and 12 aircraft, according to the military.
-
Sacramento’s Tuesday news cycle spanned a major shift for state workers, a foothills wildfire scare and an NBA free agency move.
Verb
-
Thousands of fans in Mexico lost their minds and shook the earth.
-
Multiple explosions shook central Kyiv and reverberated across the capital throughout the night as thousands of residents rushed to bomb shelters and underground metro stations.
Verb
-
Police said Alston and her boyfriend, Halley Tejada, gained access to the Kips Bay apartment Vitels had just moved into on 31st Street and squatted there for two days.
-
Making a place known Just before noon the following day, Susan Washko squatted over a white plastic tub beside the stream that runs through Fiftymile Canyon.
Verb
-
Saturday's incident appears to closely mirror a 2023 incident when a JetBlue plane was landing at Boston on a runway that intersected one where a private jet was beginning its takeoff roll.
-
Songwriter Diane Warren, 69, whose career has long intersected with Davis through countless recordings and collaborations, also shared a deeply personal tribute.
Verb
-
The Daily Mail reports that a woman dressed in a black strapless dress ducked under a line divider and started throwing punches at a woman in her pajamas.
-
The nurse told investigators Samuelson saved his life, and according to court documents, surveillance video also shows that immediately after the nurse ducked into the hallway to get away from Grafton, Samuelson stopped moving and appeared motionless.
Verb
-
Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.
-
The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.
Cite this Entry
“Straddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddled. Accessed 4 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
