Illustration of saddle
- 1 western
- 2 English
often attributive
1
a(1)
: a girthed usually padded and leather-covered seat for the rider of an animal (such as a horse)
(2)
: a part of a driving harness comparable to a saddle that is used to keep the breeching in place
b
: a seat to be straddled by the rider of a vehicle (such as a bicycle)
2
: a device mounted as a support and often shaped to fit the object held
3
a
: a ridge connecting two higher elevations
b
: a pass in a mountain range
4
a
: both sides of the unsplit back of a carcass including both loins
b
: a colored marking on the back of an animal
c
: the rear part of a male fowl's back extending to the tail see duck illustration
5
: the central part of the spine of the binding of a book
6
: a piece of leather across the instep of a shoe
saddled; saddling
ˈsa-dᵊl-iŋ 
ˈsad-liŋ
1
: to put a saddle on
2
a
: to place under a burden or encumbrance
b
: to place (an onerous responsibility) on a person or group
: to mount a saddled horse
Examples of saddle in a Sentence
Noun
the next day's hike was a stiff climb out of the saddle where they had camped for the night
Verb
He saddled his horse and mounted it.
to the social worker it seemed as though her supervisor had once again saddled her with a truly hopeless case
Recent Examples on the Web
Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2025
About nine out of 10 cats with saddle thrombus have heart disease, though most of them do not show outward signs of it before the clot forms.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025
Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Here's why car buyers are saddling themselves with higher payments and longer loans.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for saddle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Fuel saddle tanks were leaking, and hazmat personnel were dispatched to pump the fuel off the truck, according to Pazos.
—Brendan Nordstrom, Baltimore Sun, 10 July 2025
About nine out of 10 cats with saddle thrombus have heart disease, though most of them do not show outward signs of it before the clot forms.
—Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 July 2025
Verb
But blue-chip financials like Blackstone, Vanguard and Wellington are going to be extra-careful not to saddle retirement savers with lousy private investments, thereby damaging their brands.
—Hank Tucker, Forbes.com, 24 July 2025
Here's why car buyers are saddling themselves with higher payments and longer loans.
—Daniel De Visé, USA Today, 11 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for saddle
Cite this Entry
“Saddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saddle. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
saddle
1 of 2 noun
sad·dle
ˈsad-ᵊl
1
a
: a padded and leather-covered seat for a horseback rider
b
: a padded part of a harness
c
: a bicycle or motorcycle seat
2
: something like a saddle in shape, position, or use
especially
: a support for an object
Medical Definition
saddle
noun
sad·dle
ˈsad-ᵊl
: the part of a partial denture that carries an artificial tooth and has connectors for adjacent teeth attached to its ends
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