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
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 Bajo Chiquito sits on the Tuquesa River at the northern end of the Darién Gap, the more than sixty-mile stretch of formidable terrain and riverine forest straddling Panama and Colombia. — Belén Fernández, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026 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
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
  • Alternatively, take your pick from the five onsite restaurants—spanning Mediterranean, Mexican, Japanese, and European cuisines—overseen by former Top Chef contestant Chef Christian Bravo.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The late, legendary musician David Bowie will have his 80th birthday celebrated with a series of events, exhibits, releases, collaborations and experiences beginning in November and spanning 2027, his estate announced on Monday.
    — Jem Aswad, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Barra has since navigated a global pandemic, tariffs and supply-chain chaos, and the rise of AI as an unstoppable and industry-shaking force.
    — Alyson Shontell, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • For months before today’s launch, Google has been anticipating those problems on Earth, shaking spacecraft to simulate the launch and bombarding its chips with proton beams to test their response to radiation.
    — Peter Hall, Scientific American, 1 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Businesses need greater visibility into where their margins are exposed, along with the flexibility to set their own risk tolerance and tailor their response to different behaviors.
    — Sarita Singh, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Avoiding Hard Conversations Ineffective managers avoid hard conversations and let issues fester to keep the peace, but silence reads as tolerance.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Verb
  • In an effort to be comfortable and simultaneously stylish, Venus Williams laced up a pair of fashionable sneaker heels while sitting front row at Lacoste‘s spring 2027 show held today in Paris.
    — Amina Ayoud, Footwear News, 4 Oct. 2026
  • The stranger approached the store owner, a stout man waving a rattan fan lazily at his face while sitting at the till.
    — Rachel Heng, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture.
    — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026
  • As attacks escalate between Ethiopia and Tigrayan rebels, intersecting wars could deepen instability across regions already mired in conflict.
    — Rael Ombuor, Washington Post, 3 Oct. 2026
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Cooper is in Palm Springs, ducking the Better Business Bureau and reluctantly participating in his daughter’s documentary about his upbringing.
    — Ryan Chapman, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • And who will have to settle for simply drinking out of a coconut or ducking under stuff?
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Sep. 2026

Cite this Entry

“Straddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddling. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

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