as in fence-sitting
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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.
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2
as in spanning
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 shaking
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 straddling
Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul’s walkability comes from its layered history and dramatic setting straddling Europe and Asia.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the roughly mile-long waterfall is the dramatic centerpiece of the mighty Zambezi River, straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2026
Gaming hardware also saw some Memorial Day discounts, and this Alienware portable is a midrange monster, straddling the gap between price and performance better than most.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 May 2026
The northernmost province in Italy, bordering Austria and Switzerland and straddling the Alps and Dolomites, Alto Adige has a dual personality.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 24 May 2026
Someone would start a cheer, others would join in, and the commotion would attract a new wave of attention, phones open to streaming apps, the entire scene straddling the line between performance and audience.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
Since the seventies, the famed Nuyorican Poets Café has blossomed on the Lower East Side as an essential hothouse for arts movements of many stripes, perhaps most crucially as a launching pad for an emergent literati straddling the realms of soul and hip-hop.
—Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 15 May 2026
But in April, a pair of cyclones straddling the equator caused the wind direction to reverse.
—Pedro Dinezio, The Conversation, 14 May 2026
Verb
There’s a fine line between lucky and cursed, however, and Pulisic is straddling it.
—Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2026
Istanbul, Turkey Istanbul’s walkability comes from its layered history and dramatic setting straddling Europe and Asia.
—Laura Begley Bloom, Forbes.com, 1 June 2026
One of the seven natural wonders of the world, the roughly mile-long waterfall is the dramatic centerpiece of the mighty Zambezi River, straddling the border of Zimbabwe and Zambia.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 30 May 2026
Gaming hardware also saw some Memorial Day discounts, and this Alienware portable is a midrange monster, straddling the gap between price and performance better than most.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 26 May 2026
The northernmost province in Italy, bordering Austria and Switzerland and straddling the Alps and Dolomites, Alto Adige has a dual personality.
—Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 24 May 2026
Someone would start a cheer, others would join in, and the commotion would attract a new wave of attention, phones open to streaming apps, the entire scene straddling the line between performance and audience.
—Hannah Keyser, CNN Money, 20 May 2026
Since the seventies, the famed Nuyorican Poets Café has blossomed on the Lower East Side as an essential hothouse for arts movements of many stripes, perhaps most crucially as a launching pad for an emergent literati straddling the realms of soul and hip-hop.
—Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 15 May 2026
But in April, a pair of cyclones straddling the equator caused the wind direction to reverse.
—Pedro Dinezio, The Conversation, 14 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddling
Noun
-
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
-
There’s merit in seeing both sides of an argument, but there’s no honor in fence-sitting forever, which is Alex’s fatal flaw.—
Anusha Praturu,
Vulture,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Simply place your swing near a feeder or nectar-rich flowering plant to create the ideal perching spot for hummingbirds to rest and keep watch over their food source.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 June 2026
-
For the meantime, drones cannot match birds in agility, endurance, co-ordination or perching.—
David Hambling,
Forbes.com,
26 May 2026
Verb
-
Two Buttes Reservoir, spanning 700 acres and usually 25 feet deep, has dried out completely amid the historic drought.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
8 June 2026
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The career-spanning performance encompassed 23 songs across three acts, showing love to massive hits and heads-know favorites alike.—
Hattie Lindert,
Pitchfork,
7 June 2026
Verb
-
People gathered near the site to get a front row seat to the ground-shaking event.—
Abigail Dollins,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 June 2026
-
Then, during one family movie night in November 2020, her husband noticed her arm was shaking.—
Kerry Breen,
CBS News,
6 June 2026
Noun
-
Start with a low-strength over-the-counter retinol two or three nights a week and apply it over moisturizer rather than on bare skin, then build frequency as tolerance grows.—
Allison Palmer
Updated June 13,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 June 2026
-
Quitting cold turkey is faster and can reset tolerance in one to two weeks.—
Samantha Agate,
Charlotte Observer,
13 June 2026
Verb
-
And sitting behind us was Gene Shalit.—
Wendy Naugle,
USA Today,
13 June 2026
-
Many businesses are profitable on paper but cash-poor because money owed is sitting uncollected.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
12 June 2026
Verb
-
Clad in charred cedar, concrete and sawn limestone, the home’s intersecting volumes vault over an outdoor living space that’s shaded from the Texas sun by the living area above.—
Fred Albert,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
The narrative unravels a web of dark, intersecting secrets within a residential building, catalyzed by the mysterious disappearance of a young boy on the winter solstice.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
1 June 2026
Verb
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Otherwise, Makar will be wincing through pain trying to explain the unfathomable, Blackwood will be dropping F-bombs in disbelief and MacKinnon will be ducking reporters despite being the team’s best player.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
11 June 2026
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Now, 25 games and 577 days since the injury that put his career in jeopardy, there was All on the Bengals’ practice fields, cutting and accelerating, extending for receptions and ducking into blocking assignments.—
Paul Dehner Jr,
New York Times,
2 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Straddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddling. Accessed 14 Jun. 2026.
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