1
as in perches
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 spans
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 shakes
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 straddles
The bar somehow straddles the line between regular’s haunt and tourist attraction.
—
Jake Emen, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2025
Mount Everest, which reaches 29,000 feet and straddles the border between China and Nepal.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Death Valley National Park straddles the California–Nevada border.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
The man straddles your dad and brings his legs around his torso.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Via visual gags, a cast of gifted comic actors and a script that pulls both from ’80s and ’90s TV movies and screen classics like Suddenly, Last Summer and The Children’s Hour, Maddie’s Secret straddles the line between comedy and melodrama, creating a wholly unique cinematic experience.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Sep. 2025
But Bieber’s Rhode is the rare unicorn that straddles both worlds.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
His work straddles tradition and modernity while honoring craft as a link to community, history and nature.
—Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
The property straddles city council District 9, represented by Beck, and District 11, represented by Councilwomen Jeanette Martinez.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
Jake Emen, Robb Report, 9 Oct. 2025
Mount Everest, which reaches 29,000 feet and straddles the border between China and Nepal.
—Stephen Sorace, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Death Valley National Park straddles the California–Nevada border.
—Daniella Segura, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2025
The man straddles your dad and brings his legs around his torso.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Via visual gags, a cast of gifted comic actors and a script that pulls both from ’80s and ’90s TV movies and screen classics like Suddenly, Last Summer and The Children’s Hour, Maddie’s Secret straddles the line between comedy and melodrama, creating a wholly unique cinematic experience.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 13 Sep. 2025
But Bieber’s Rhode is the rare unicorn that straddles both worlds.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 10 Sep. 2025
His work straddles tradition and modernity while honoring craft as a link to community, history and nature.
—Y-Jean Mun-Delsalle, Forbes.com, 7 Sep. 2025
The property straddles city council District 9, represented by Beck, and District 11, represented by Councilwomen Jeanette Martinez.
—Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddles
Verb
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The Ringed Kingfisher perches up to 30 feet above the surface, watching for medium-size fish and then plunging in headfirst with a mighty splash.—
Cecilia Rodriguez,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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And frequent appearances by a pigeon that perches on her windowsill like a Greek chorus, mocking her self-abasement and growing detachment from reality, seem a tad heavy-handed.—
Book Marks
August 28,
Literary Hub,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
This ensures our testing base spans different skin tones, genders, and dermatological conditions.—
Lily Wohlner,
Allure,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Most importantly, Armenia offers investors duty-free access to a 180 million-strong Eurasian Economic Union market that spans Central Asia and beyond.—
Narek Mkrtchyan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Yet Leto never shakes the role’s robotic nature, even as his character strives to become more human, and his acting partners struggle to play off that in a meaningful way.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
10 Oct. 2025
-
These days, the Detroit area gets more love from the outside world, but the auto industry, while certainly healthier, never fully shakes nagging questions about its future, particularly now with worries about competition from China and tariff uncertainties.—
Eric D. Lawrence,
USA Today,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The site sits just north of a Salvation Army addiction treatment center and west of neighborhoods near the intersection of Tibbs Avenue and Lafayette Road.—
Jordan Smith,
IndyStar,
15 Oct. 2025
-
In fact, the first permanent county courthouse occupied the second floor of the Harry Case Building on Park just west of Cherry Street where the courthouse square sits now.—
Randy Mason,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The first option was Morrison Street, which intersects with Market Street, in front of the building that housed Morrow’s barbershop and media company.—
Maura Fox,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Investing in the Future As the founder of Cryptic8 VC, a company that invests in startups, Kikvadze is focused on where technology intersects with human longevity.—
Lyssanoel Frater,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Dignitaries would climb up Bab al Silsilah, a narrow limestone street that ducks under an arched gate.—
Ryan Byrnes,
Literary Hub,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Mike Johnson ducks Epstein files questions, refuses to swear in Grijalva!—
The Hill,
The Hill,
7 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Inside each camp, sprawls of rickety structures covered with olive-green military tarps housed anywhere from 500 to 3,000 people.—
Miriam Pensack,
The Dial,
30 Sep. 2025
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Its story sprawls more, and its villains are exclusively Brazilians acting against their fellow Brazilians.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Like the Chinese government and most of its people, the movie evades mentions of the mass casualties after the pandemic restrictions were removed, therefore foregoing an opportunity to reflect on whether the deaths were preventable and what lessons might be learned.—
Yangyang Cheng,
NPR,
4 Oct. 2025
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For now, love evades understanding—which means that finding someone will remain, much of the time, a pain in the ass.—
Faith Hill,
The Atlantic,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Straddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddles. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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