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.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
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.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
3
as in shaking
to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something)
The politician straddled the issue for weeks.
Related Words
as in fence-sitting
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddling
Verb
-
Symptoms like a fast heart rate, or shortness of breath, shaking and chills, confusion or lethargy.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
24 Dec. 2024 -
In the video, a terrified Archie can be seen frozen, staring and shaking.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
23 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
The Rockets came into Christmas Eve riding a three-game winning streak, now sitting at 20-9 and up to second overall in the Western Conference, behind just the Oklahoma City Thunder.—
Rahat Huq,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
-
Coach Doc River played the role of Secret Santa by sitting the Bucks’ two biggest stars — Giannis Antetokounmpo, who was dealing with back spasms, and Damian Lillard, who was out with a non-COVID-19 illness.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Teach emotional tolerance, not just problem-solving.—
Sherri Gordon,
Parents,
29 July 2025
-
Even with her high pain tolerance, changing the needle was excruciating.—
Jordan Greene,
People.com,
28 July 2025
Noun
-
Most prominent has been the hot competition to bring a hotel to the urban center, which led the city to choose two developers building separate projects after years of market indifference.—
Laura Kinsler,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 July 2025
-
The quiet majority, by remaining quiet, gets to enjoy relative prosperity and the relative indifference of the state.—
MICHAEL KIMMAGE,
Foreign Affairs,
16 July 2025
Verb
-
Royal Family Christmas Traditions Charles and Queen Camilla will spend Christmas at Sandringham, the royal family's sprawling estate in Norfolk, as the royals do every year.—
Josh Hammer,
Newsweek,
23 Dec. 2024
-
The sprawling case puts a spotlight on crisis publicists, who typically remain behind the scenes but have become the story here, with four separate agencies engulfed in the spectacle.—
Tatiana Siegel,
Variety,
23 Dec. 2024
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Straddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddling. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share