1
as in perches
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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Dissimilar Words
2
as in spans
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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Dissimilar Words
3
as in shakes
to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something)
The politician straddled the issue for weeks.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of straddles
Online editor and former reality star Esmerelda Grand (Sabrina Impacciatore) straddles the line between nutty coworker and buffoonish cartoon.
—
Sara Netzley,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 July 2026
Microsoft is investing $20 billion in data centers at Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, a community that straddles the Great Lakes basin line and can divert lake water.
—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
28 June 2026
The National Weather Service said a brief tornado was confirmed near Huntley, which straddles McHenry and Kane counties far northwest of Chicago.
—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
The coastal Broward County 100th House district straddles Federal Highway from the south end of Fort Lauderdale north to the Palm Beach County line.
—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
25 June 2026
This axis also straddles two of the countries with the most muscular production and VFX tax incentives in Europe.
—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
23 June 2026
Though the park straddles the border of Maryland and Virginia, camping at Assateague is available only on the Maryland side.
—
Andrea Romano,
Travel + Leisure,
23 June 2026
Just outside Charlotte, the park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border, with the state line marked through the plaza.
—
Jacqueline Dole,
Southern Living,
22 June 2026
The new owner, Jasen Mark, snapped it up four years ago, then spent $8 million to turn a rundown resort into a new five-star property that artfully straddles modern amenities and a nostalgic embrace of simpler times.
—
Todd Plummer,
Robb Report,
19 June 2026
Sara Netzley,
Entertainment Weekly,
2 July 2026
Microsoft is investing $20 billion in data centers at Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, a community that straddles the Great Lakes basin line and can divert lake water.
—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
28 June 2026
The National Weather Service said a brief tornado was confirmed near Huntley, which straddles McHenry and Kane counties far northwest of Chicago.
—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
25 June 2026
The coastal Broward County 100th House district straddles Federal Highway from the south end of Fort Lauderdale north to the Palm Beach County line.
—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
25 June 2026
This axis also straddles two of the countries with the most muscular production and VFX tax incentives in Europe.
—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
23 June 2026
Though the park straddles the border of Maryland and Virginia, camping at Assateague is available only on the Maryland side.
—
Andrea Romano,
Travel + Leisure,
23 June 2026
Just outside Charlotte, the park straddles the North Carolina-South Carolina border, with the state line marked through the plaza.
—
Jacqueline Dole,
Southern Living,
22 June 2026
The new owner, Jasen Mark, snapped it up four years ago, then spent $8 million to turn a rundown resort into a new five-star property that artfully straddles modern amenities and a nostalgic embrace of simpler times.
—
Todd Plummer,
Robb Report,
19 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddles
Verb
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Head to Stoos, which perches on a plateau at the base of the Fronalpstock in central Switzerland.
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Live streams from entertainment events like the Grammys or Golden Globes aren’t typically perches for controversy, but, says Anthony McCartney, AP’s entertainment and lifestyles editor, celebrities will sometimes be asked to weigh in on recent headlines.
Verb
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Nadal has long been laying the foundation for a business portfolio that spans health, sport and education.
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District staffers on Monday filed an application for a grant to support the nearly $29 million replacement of the Fairview Avenue Bridge, which spans the Boise River to connect the city’s West End to Garden City.
Verb
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The Korean switch-on diet combines low-carb meals, protein shakes, and intermittent fasting.
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Huel offers nutritionally complete protein shakes as meal replacements.
Verb
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The side of the bracket where France sits includes some tough potential opponents.
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Evans said the socialist label won’t play in his district among the Latino population, which sits north of Denver, pointing to municipal results in Rutinel’s hometown last year.
Verb
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If the path of the comet intersects with Earth’s orbit, the Earth will collide with these debris fields in its yearly orbit around the Sun.
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That answer matters because audiences have become increasingly skeptical whenever patriotism intersects with marketing.
Verb
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In the video, the subject ducks his head in the opposite direction of the doorbell camera.
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The sun ducks down and sets Conejo Mountain against warm pinks and purples, transforming the ridgeline into an epic silhouette.
Verb
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In a place where many homes lean into glass, driftwood tones and a conventional layout, this one sprawls like a resort, with sleeping quarters separated into individual pavilion-like structures.
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Just north of town sprawls Ecola State Park, which offers sweeping views of the ocean, access to quiet coves, and plenty of hiking trails.
Verb
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If the armed forces are the instrument through which the president evades the Constitution, then the leaders of those armed forces must answer for their role.
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Panthalassa evades these regional regulatory and environmental obstacles by deploying autonomous computing nodes directly into deep water.
Cite this Entry
“Straddles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddles. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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