straddling 1 of 2

straddling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of straddle
1
as in perching
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

Dissimilar Words

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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 straddling
Verb
As the camera zooms out, the actress is revealed to be nude straddling a basketball hoop while spinning a ball on her finger like a Harlem Globetrotter. — Kathleen Perricone, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026 This town sits in the Central Idaho Rockies, straddling national forests in the Wood River Valley. — Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026 Back on ground level, The Patio is a more relaxed bar straddling the entrance of the restaurant. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026 An example is the rare Enantio, from the mountainous region straddling Veneto and Trentino. — Sean Timberlake, Sacbee.com, 14 Aug. 2026 In the world of traffic oddities, one car straddling a bike path median — like a gymnast poised on a balance beam — could be called a fluke. — Eric Adler, Kansas City Star, 31 July 2026 Mythical creatures, too, soaked in the supernatural; half-men, half-animals who evaded classification—centaurs and satyrs, fauns and werewolves—straddling the boundary between man and beast. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026 It’s situated in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness north of Yellowstone National Park straddling the Montana-Wyoming border. — Kris Millgate, Outdoor Life, 29 July 2026 At her white adoptive family’s estate, Thina (26), a Black surgeon straddling two worlds, prepares for her wedding with a woke Black fiancé and her white adoptive sister – her best friend. — John Hopewell, Variety, 14 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddling
Noun
  • Keeping four quarterbacks could be seen as another fence-sitting move.
    — Mike DeFabo, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Lower mortgage rates will spur some fence-sitting buyers into action and increase sales volumes over last year.
    — Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 6 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • No club have spent more time perching on the highest rung of English football than Everton.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • There was a time, the woman said, when rolling down the road meant perching on her husband’s back seat.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • This last concert of the Yankee Stadium run promised to be a career-spanning revue—an enticing pitch, as the later albums have felt more like exercises in brand management.
    — Hua Hsu, New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Goldstein has faced mounting criticism of his management of the ambitious Kanal project, spanning 430,000 square feet, which relies heavily on dwindling public funding.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • Xi largely succeeded, shaking hands with then-President Barack Obama to deepen economic ties and expand cooperation.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Neither home nor sacred space, to her the building felt stuck between states, stubbornly shaking its head.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • At the same time, there will be no tolerance for violence or destruction of property.
    — Alexa Herrera, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Finance leaders can approach the issue differently by starting with loss severity, frequency, liquidity, capital availability and risk tolerance.
    — Randy Sadler, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • So yes, there could be another universe where David Brooks and Priya are sitting, but Priya’s not wearing a blue blouse.
    — David Brooks, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
  • In the museum’s Skywalker Grill restaurant, Leonardo DiCaprio held court at a center table with Al Pacino, with Francis Ford Coppola and Jeffrey Katzenberg sitting nearby.
    — Kirsten Chuba, HollywoodReporter, 20 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • The style features dazzling dainty straps intersecting across the toes and an ankle strap adorned with lemon and leaf ornaments.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 25 Aug. 2026
  • That innovation is also intersecting with the growth of artificial intelligence capabilities, according to Hendrik Venter, CEO of DHL Supply Chain.
    — Laya Neelakandan, CNBC, 25 July 2026
Verb
  • Paxton has so far failed to hold large campaign events and is ducking debates.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Store employees are seen ducking for cover as more shots are fired.
    — Aziza Shuler, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Straddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddling. Accessed 26 Sep. 2026.

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