1
as in perched
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 spanned
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 shook
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 straddled
Guthrie’s street straddled a light green and a light orange section.
—
Sarah Lapidus, AZCentral.com, 12 Feb. 2026
In Latakia, a giant bronze figure was knocked over and then dragged through the streets as people straddled its head like a Jet Ski.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
The Toronto Maple Leafs have typically straddled the limits of the NHL’s dress code.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The hero of the book’s first section is the sixteenth-century Spanish priest and writer Bartolomé de las Casas, who straddled the Old World and the New, issuing startling moral novelties to both.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2025
Purdy correctly straddled the line on the play between being safe and taking a shot.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Paytas has straddled the stage, screen and podcast studio since her Broadway debut earlier this year.
—Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
As Jaramillo straddled Rustrian, Rustrian grabbed Jaramillo’s gun and shot him several times.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2025
The tensions are evident and the frosty relations between the countries are constantly straddled by administrators.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Sarah Lapidus, AZCentral.com, 12 Feb. 2026
In Latakia, a giant bronze figure was knocked over and then dragged through the streets as people straddled its head like a Jet Ski.
—Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 8 Feb. 2026
The Toronto Maple Leafs have typically straddled the limits of the NHL’s dress code.
—Julian McKenzie, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
The hero of the book’s first section is the sixteenth-century Spanish priest and writer Bartolomé de las Casas, who straddled the Old World and the New, issuing startling moral novelties to both.
—Vinson Cunningham, New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2025
Purdy correctly straddled the line on the play between being safe and taking a shot.
—Jerry McDonald, Mercury News, 1 Dec. 2025
Paytas has straddled the stage, screen and podcast studio since her Broadway debut earlier this year.
—Lex Goldstein, PEOPLE, 30 Nov. 2025
As Jaramillo straddled Rustrian, Rustrian grabbed Jaramillo’s gun and shot him several times.
—Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 10 Nov. 2025
The tensions are evident and the frosty relations between the countries are constantly straddled by administrators.
—Tristan Lavalette, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddled
Verb
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Problems came to a head in 2023, when K-pop star Jennie Kim of Blackpink shared images of herself perched on the edge of the cliff, legs dangling over the drop.—
Trista Kurniawan,
CNN Money,
11 Feb. 2026
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Her disappearance sparked a large search effort in the Catalina Foothills community, perched north of Tucson, and a criminal investigation by the Pima County Sheriff's Department and FBI.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The Chilean director earned international acclaim with the Oscar-nominated No, with later standouts including Jackie, Spencer, El Conde and the recent Angelina Jolie starrer, Maria — a career that has consistently spanned arthouse cinema and prestige English-language filmmaking.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
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But consider the other two projects that have spanned those tracks over the years — the one that made the McCormick Place expansion possible in 1986 and Millennium Park beginning in 1998.—
David Greising,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Tomlyn asked, to which Chloe shook her head no.—
Matthew Adams,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Feb. 2026
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And after Britain scored four stones to take the score to 10-5 in end seven, Estonia’s Marie Kaldvee and Lill Harri also called an end to their match and shook hands.—
Jared Perlo,
NBC news,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Kay squatted by a monitor, bobbing his head to the beat.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Dec. 2025
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The brace successfully monitored joint bending while the subject walked, ran, squatted, and jumped, even reconstructing the person’s running gait with precision.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Was there a moment when your work as a national park volunteer and resident truly intersected with your life as an artist?—
Outside,
Outside,
18 Jan. 2026
-
For longtime Housewives fans, the documentary promises to address what really happens inside Faith Temple and how Mary’s reality TV fame intersected with her role as First Lady of the church.—
Jenzia Burgos,
StyleCaster,
1 Jan. 2026
Verb
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During the demonstration, the Dexory bot ducked under a low pipe near the ceiling and stopped before rolling around a person standing in its path.—
Liam Rappleye,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
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Rule breakers Two spectators ducked the rope line late in the day along the 18th fairway and raced to the other side.—
Kirk Kenney,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Levi Jones, a 33-year-old business owner, pulled up to Sacred Eye Tattoos in Hollywood last week and sat for eight hours getting a photorealistic black-and-white portrait of Mangione on his leg.—
Amanda Rosa,
Orlando Sentinel,
24 Dec. 2024
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The birthday boy and his big sister Sterling Skye, 3, each sat between one of their parents’ laps.—
Angel Saunders,
People.com,
24 Dec. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Straddled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddled. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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