as in fence-sitting
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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.
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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.
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3
as in shaking
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 straddling
Grace Edquist, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2026
Fanatics isn’t alone in straddling both sides of the sports betting–prediction market divide.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
This underground ring, 27 kilometers in circumference and straddling the border between France and Switzerland, was built to slam subatomic particles together at near light speed and test deep theories of the universe.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2026
And being Basque seems to help — as well as the aforementioned duo, the likes of Unai Emery and Andoni Iraola come from that region straddling the Spanish/French border.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026
The early-2000s-set pic explores the experience of straddling multiple cultures.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
All beaches in the Northern Beaches, a council area straddling Sydney's northern coastline, will remain closed until further notice, police said.
—Alasdair Pal, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
While redistricting made his 49th District straddling the San Diego-Orange County line more Democratic and thus safer for Levin, it’s still considered competitive.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
The city has long occupied a cinematic place, straddling its gauzy past and a dark, rainy future.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Verb
Sullivan, raised in Massachusetts and now based in New York, started her gallery as a hybrid space straddling the worlds of decorative arts and fine art, of things made yesterday and over a century ago.
—Grace Edquist, Vogue, 7 Feb. 2026
Fanatics isn’t alone in straddling both sides of the sports betting–prediction market divide.
—Suzy Khimm, NBC news, 5 Feb. 2026
This underground ring, 27 kilometers in circumference and straddling the border between France and Switzerland, was built to slam subatomic particles together at near light speed and test deep theories of the universe.
—IEEE Spectrum, 3 Feb. 2026
And being Basque seems to help — as well as the aforementioned duo, the likes of Unai Emery and Andoni Iraola come from that region straddling the Spanish/French border.
—Michael Cox, New York Times, 24 Jan. 2026
The early-2000s-set pic explores the experience of straddling multiple cultures.
—Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 Jan. 2026
All beaches in the Northern Beaches, a council area straddling Sydney's northern coastline, will remain closed until further notice, police said.
—Alasdair Pal, USA Today, 20 Jan. 2026
While redistricting made his 49th District straddling the San Diego-Orange County line more Democratic and thus safer for Levin, it’s still considered competitive.
—Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Jan. 2026
The city has long occupied a cinematic place, straddling its gauzy past and a dark, rainy future.
—Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddling
Noun
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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
-
The outcome of this exceptionally tight presidential race may turn on whether Harris, in these final days of the campaign, can convince enough fence-sitting voters to embrace that message.—
David Lauter,
Los Angeles Times,
26 Oct. 2024
Verb
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In 2025, there was the Owl Arm Trend, in which Gen Z TikTokers contorted their bodies (and stretched their T-shirts) to mimic the shape of a perching owl, clinging to their friend’s arm.—
Dani Di Placido,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Other photos show it while perching on the plant.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday a major investment package in Syria spanning energy, aviation, real estate and telecommunications, as the kingdom positions itself as a leading backer of Syria’s new leadership.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
-
The Columbia River Basin, spanning an area roughly the size of Texas, was once the world's greatest salmon-producing river system, with at least 16 stocks of salmon and steelhead.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Figure skater Amber Glenn skated off the ice, shaking her head after an early landing bobble during today's competition.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Both physical strength and constant mental attention are required for this sport in order to control heart rate and shaking in the muscles.—
Janet Loehrke,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Lettuce seeds germinate the fastest and most reliably in temperatures around 75°F, but some loose-leaf lettuce varieties that are known for their cold tolerance, such as ‘Arctic King’, germinate in temperatures as low as 40°F.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
7 Feb. 2026
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The divide gets more complicated when the documentary trails openly gay veteran Garden Club member David Garner, whose charity work benefiting the LGBTQ+ community would seem to point to an old world’s shifting tolerance.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Yet McGwire made sure to acknowledge Garrett, sitting at his table, during his acceptance speech at the College Baseball Night of Champions event, where McGwire entered the sport’s Hall of Fame.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
13 Feb. 2026
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At one point, a mysterious conflict arose between two women who were both sitting alone, a row apart.—
Rachel Handler,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Adapting and expanding upon a lean Don Winslow novella, Layton adds many sometimes unnecessarily complex ingredients to the pot, with characters intersecting and allegiances and motivations often contradicting one another.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
11 Feb. 2026
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In the middle of this spectrum, a trio of mid-career stylistic chameleons and sometime collaborators — Feid, J Balvin, and Bad Bunny — carefully map out intersecting tastes.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But after ducking the tax — the first step toward eventually resetting their heavy repeater penalties — the Celtics surely won’t want to jump right back into it.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Conference-goers are often ducking in and out of the big ballrooms day and night and the lobby is nearly always abuzz with travelers coming and going.—
Lizbeth Scordo,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Straddling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straddling. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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