straddle
verb /ˈstrædl/
/ˈstrædl/
Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they straddle | /ˈstrædl/ /ˈstrædl/ |
| he / she / it straddles | /ˈstrædlz/ /ˈstrædlz/ |
| past simple straddled | /ˈstrædld/ /ˈstrædld/ |
| past participle straddled | /ˈstrædld/ /ˈstrædld/ |
| -ing form straddling | /ˈstrædlɪŋ/ /ˈstrædlɪŋ/ |
- straddle something/somebody to sit or stand with one of your legs on either side of somebody/something
- He swung his leg over the motorcycle, straddling it easily.
- straddle something to cross, or exist on both sides of, a river, a road or an area of land
- The mountains straddle the French-Swiss border.
- straddle something to exist within, or include, different periods of time, activities or groups of people
- a writer who straddles two cultures
Word Originmid 16th cent.: alteration of dialect striddle, back-formation from dialect striddling ‘astride’, from stride + the adverbial suffix -ling.