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.
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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.
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3
as in shook
to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something)
The politician straddled the issue for weeks.
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Recent Examples of straddled
The hero of the book’s first section is the sixteenth-century Spanish priest and writer Bartolomé de las Casas, who straddled the Old World and the New, issuing startling moral novelties to both.
—
Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2025
Purdy correctly straddled the line on the play between being safe and taking a shot.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Paytas has straddled the stage, screen and podcast studio since her Broadway debut earlier this year.
—Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Piles of hail that resembled dirty remnants of snow in the desert straddled rows of the largely empty parking lot.
—Ronald J. Hansen, AZCentral.com, 20 Nov. 2025
As Jaramillo straddled Rustrian, Rustrian grabbed Jaramillo’s gun and shot him several times.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2025
Messi, meanwhile, finished the season with five goals in his last two matches to put the finishing touches on the Golden Boot, but his campaign’s foundation came via a league-record five straight multi-goal games that straddled Inter Miami’s participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.
—Avi Creditor, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The tensions are evident and the frosty relations between the countries are constantly straddled by administrators.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In Tennessee, Vrabel’s defenses straddled league average most years.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2025
Purdy correctly straddled the line on the play between being safe and taking a shot.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Paytas has straddled the stage, screen and podcast studio since her Broadway debut earlier this year.
—Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
Piles of hail that resembled dirty remnants of snow in the desert straddled rows of the largely empty parking lot.
—Ronald J. Hansen, AZCentral.com, 20 Nov. 2025
As Jaramillo straddled Rustrian, Rustrian grabbed Jaramillo’s gun and shot him several times.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2025
Messi, meanwhile, finished the season with five goals in his last two matches to put the finishing touches on the Golden Boot, but his campaign’s foundation came via a league-record five straight multi-goal games that straddled Inter Miami’s participation in the FIFA Club World Cup.
—Avi Creditor, New York Times, 19 Oct. 2025
The tensions are evident and the frosty relations between the countries are constantly straddled by administrators.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
In Tennessee, Vrabel’s defenses straddled league average most years.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddled
Verb
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This price for the complex of 149 apartments is perched on the high side of per-unit values of South Bay residential hubs that have landed new owners lately.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Another distinct feature of the city is its famous Merchant’s Bridge perched over the river Gera.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Joe Don Baker, an actor whose career spanned nearly 50 years, died at age 89 on May 7.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
5 Jan. 2026
-
At its widest in the 1950s, the inlet spanned 500 feet across and 13 feet deep.—
Jack Prator,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
Verb
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And Tagovailoa shook off that early interception with a 9-yard scoring pass to Malik Washington — capping a ferocious seven-minute, 92-yard drive — and then a 38-yard TD strike to Jaylen Waddle.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
9 Nov. 2025
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Miller finished with 129 yards on 18 carries, while Jayden Maiava shook off a poor day throwing the ball with 62 yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts.—
Ben Verbrugge,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The brace successfully monitored joint bending while the subject walked, ran, squatted, and jumped, even reconstructing the person’s running gait with precision.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
-
Brockington squatted 664 pounds, breaking his own record from last year by 50 pounds, and posted a vertical jump of 42 inches.—
Andy Greder,
Twin Cities,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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For longtime Housewives fans, the documentary promises to address what really happens inside Faith Temple and how Mary’s reality TV fame intersected with her role as First Lady of the church.—
Jenzia Burgos,
StyleCaster,
1 Jan. 2026
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One tragedy had intersected with another.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Andy Byron, then CEO of tech company Astronomer, and the company’s Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot broke away from a cosy embrace and ducked for cover to avoid being caught on kiss cam.—
Will Barker,
TheWeek,
30 Dec. 2025
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Dugan and her attorneys left the courtroom, ducked into a side conference room and closed the door without speaking to reporters.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
19 Dec. 2025
Verb
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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.—
Amanda Rosa,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
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The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Straddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddled. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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