saddle

[ sad-l ]
See synonyms for saddle on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a seat for a rider on the back of a horse or other animal.

  2. a similar seat on a bicycle, tractor, etc.

  1. a part of a harness laid across the back of an animal and girded under the belly, to which the terrets and checkhook are attached.

  2. something resembling a saddle in shape, position, or function.

  3. the part of the back of an animal where a saddle is placed.

    • (of mutton, venison, lamb, etc.) a cut comprising both loins.

    • this cut, trimmed and prepared for roasting.

  4. (of poultry) the posterior part of the back.

  5. a ridge connecting two higher elevations.

  6. the covering of a roof ridge.

  7. a raised piece of flooring between the jambs of a doorway.

  8. an inverted bracket bearing on the axle of a railroad car wheel as a support for the car body.

  9. Ordnance. the support for the trunnion on some gun carriages.

  10. Machinery. a sliding part for spanning a space or other parts to support something else, as the cross slide and toolholder of a lathe.

  11. a strip of leather, often of a contrasting color, sewn on the vamp or instep of a shoe and extending to each side of the shank.

  12. Ceramics. a bar of refractory clay, triangular in section, for supporting one side of an object being fired.

  13. (in a suspension bridge) a member at the top of a tower for supporting a cable.

verb (used with object),sad·dled, sad·dling.
  1. to put a saddle on: to saddle a horse.

  2. to load or charge, as with a burden: He has saddled himself with a houseful of impecunious relatives.

  1. to impose as a burden or responsibility.

verb (used without object),sad·dled, sad·dling.
  1. to put a saddle on a horse (often followed by up).

  2. to mount into the saddle (often followed by up).

Idioms about saddle

  1. in the saddle,

    • in a position to direct or command; in control.

    • at work; on the job.

Origin of saddle

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun sadel, saddul, Old English sadol; cognate with German Sattel, Old Norse sǫthull; akin to Latin sella (from unattested sedla ) “seat, stool, chair”; Middle English verb sad(e)len, Old English sadolian, derivative of the noun; see also sit1

Other words from saddle

  • sad·dle·less, adjective
  • sad·dle·like, adjective
  • re·sad·dle, verb, re·sad·dled, re·sad·dling.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use saddle in a sentence

  • By spreading over us the heavy woolen blankets the Mounted Police use under their saddles, we slept in comfort.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • While he was gone, MacRae and I leaned over in our saddles and scanned closely the grass-carpeted bottom-land.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • "Slap your saddles on them fresh hosses," he grated harshly from the back of a deep-chested, lean-flanked gray.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • Scarcely taking time to look the motor-cycles over, they pulled them upright and got into the saddles.

    Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
  • Many of the guerrillas cut the halters of their horses and without saddles or bridles galloped furiously away.

British Dictionary definitions for saddle

saddle

/ (ˈsædəl) /


noun
  1. a seat for a rider, usually made of leather, placed on a horse's back and secured with a girth under the belly

  2. a similar seat on a bicycle, tractor, etc, made of leather or steel

  1. a back pad forming part of the harness of a packhorse

  2. anything that resembles a saddle in shape, position, or function

  3. a cut of meat, esp mutton, consisting of part of the backbone and both loins

  4. the part of a horse or similar animal on which a saddle is placed

  5. the part of the back of a domestic chicken that is nearest to the tail

  6. civil engineering a block on top of one of the towers of a suspension bridge that acts as a bearing surface over which the cables or chains pass

  7. engineering the carriage that slides on the bed of a lathe and supports the slide rest, tool post, or turret

  8. the nontechnical name for clitellum

  9. another name for col (def. 1)

  10. a raised piece of wood or metal for covering a doorsill

  11. in the saddle in a position of control

verb
  1. (sometimes foll by up) to put a saddle on (a horse)

  2. (intr) to mount into the saddle

  1. (tr) to burden; charge: I didn't ask to be saddled with this job

Origin of saddle

1
Old English sadol, sædel; related to Old Norse sothull, Old High German satul

Derived forms of saddle

  • saddleless, adjective
  • saddle-like, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with saddle

saddle

In addition to the idiom beginning with saddle

  • saddle someone with

also see:

  • in the driver's seat (saddle)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.