saddle

American  

[sad-l] / ˈsæd l /

noun

• saddles
  plural

1. a seat for a rider on the back of a horse or other animal.

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

3. 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.

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

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

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

   2. this cut, trimmed and prepared for roasting.

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

8. a ridge connecting two higher elevations.

9. the covering of a roof ridge.

10. bolster.

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

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

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

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

15. 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.

16. saddle shoe.

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

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

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verb (used with object)

• saddles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• saddled,
  past participle,  past
• saddling
  present participle

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.

3. to impose as a burden or responsibility.

verb (used without object)

• saddles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• saddled,
  past participle,  past
• saddling
  present participle

1. to put a saddle on a horse (often followed byup ).

2. to mount into the saddle (often followed byup ).

idioms

1. in the saddle,

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

   2. at work; on the job.

saddle British  

/ 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

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

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

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

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

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

8. 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

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

10. the nontechnical name for clitellum

11. another name for col

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

13. in a position of control

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verb

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

2. (intr) to mount into the saddle

3. (tr) to burden; charge

   I didn't ask to be saddled with this job

saddle More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing saddle

• in the driver's seat (saddle)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• resaddle
  verb
• saddle-like
  adjective
• saddleless
  adjective
• saddlelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• saddles
  plural

Participles

• saddling
  present
• saddled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• saddle
  simple
• saddles
  simple
• have saddled
  perfect
• has saddled
  perfect
• am saddling
  progressive
• are saddling
  progressive
• is saddling
  progressive
• have been saddling
  perfect progressive
• has been saddling
  perfect progressive

Past

• saddled
  simple
• had saddled
  perfect
• was saddling
  progressive
• were saddling
  progressive
• had been saddling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will saddle
  simple
• will have saddled
  perfect
• will be saddling
  progressive
• will have been saddling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of saddle

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 sit ¹

Explanation

A saddle is a leather seat for horseback riders. If you saddle something, you either put a saddle on it or you burden it with something else. If you buy an expensive saddle for example. you may be saddled (or burdened) with debt. A saddle makes a horse's rider more comfortable and secure — and if you ever ride a camel, you'll also sit on a saddle. As a verb, to saddle means "to put a saddle on an animal," although it also has the figurative meaning of "to burden." Your excessive spending might saddle you with debt, or your position as the oldest of eight siblings could saddle you with too much responsibility.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

saddle saddles saddled saddling

There’s also been concern that the borrowing blitz results in overbuilding that could saddle debt investors with big losses.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Rispoli was replaced by Jose Ortiz before the Breeders’ Cup Classic, but the 37-year-old Italian is returning to the saddle Saturday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Rather than saddle an existing agency with additional duties, Congress delegated rulemaking and enforcement power to a private corporation known as the Horseracing Authority.

From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2026

He crashed onto the saddle horn when his horse stopped suddenly at a calf-sorting event, splitting his pelvis.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

“Woo-weee!” cried Mr. Lemoncello, who, in a complete cowboy costume, was riding in a saddle strapped around the giant audio-animatronic Apatosaurus’s neck.

From "Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics" by Chris Grabenstein

He has the chance to change that as he saddles up with a familiar partner.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 9, 2025

That involves treating the surface of the ball with the same oil that’s used on horse saddles, then in succession leather balm, conditioner, mud, more conditioner, and a thorough brushing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2024

You could see details in saddles and costumes, and the building were still extant.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2024

Trainer Todd Pletcher, who saddles Fierceness, is in the derby for the 24th year and it never gets old.

From Seattle Times ● May 4, 2024

Oh they looked tough—unshaven and dirty, wearing swords and pistols, and muskets tucked in behind their saddles.

From "My Brother Sam is Dead" by James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier

Hui built Evergrande into one of China’s biggest residential developers, which saddled itself with massive debt and eventually defaulted on its bonds in late 2021.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The ranchers said the park service saddled them with excessive rules and regulations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

As Moscow presses along several fronts, Ukrainian commanders complain they are increasingly being saddled with paperwork and struggling to effectively carry out orders.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

But that officer’s mission was saddled with bureaucratic ambiguity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026

Booth and Herold ate the food Cox offered them, saddled up for the ride to the pine thicket, and rode off with Cox’s overseer as their guide.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Oldfield says: "How do we shore the business up into a place that's right for them to come into without saddling them with a lot of debt?"

From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026

For-profit colleges, which have long faced criticism for saddling students with debt for little benefit, have the highest expected fail rate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

But his career collapsed abruptly within a few years when the party accused him of saddling Zibo with onerous debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026

What happens next may hit everyone who dreams of saddling a dragon squarely in the chest.

From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2026

At three-thirty the horses began the long walk down the center of the track to the saddling paddock.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand