astraddle

American  

[uh-strad-l] / əˈstræd l /

adverb

1. astride with one leg on each side of; astride.

   sitting astraddle a fence.

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astraddle British  

/ əˈstrædəl /

adjective

1. (postpositive) with a leg on either side of something

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preposition

1. astride

Etymology

Origin of astraddle

First recorded in 1695–1705; a- ¹ + straddle

Explanation

When you sit or stand astraddle something, you have one leg on each side of it. Kids on a seesaw sit astraddle as they bounce up and down. The typical way to ride a horse is astraddle, with one leg on each side of the horse's back, and people also ride bikes and motorcycles while sitting astraddle. You might even have had a teacher or two who preferred to address the class while sitting astraddle the chair. Astraddle comes from the verb straddle, which comes from the same Old English root as the word stride — stridan, "to straddle."

Example Sentences

The players will still be running around astraddle brooms, still pinning their hopes of victory on grabbing a yellow-hued ball — inexplicably, unless “Harry Potter” explains it.

From Washington Post • Dec. 21, 2021

He found two for, two against and one astraddle.

From Time Magazine Archive

Weather vanes popped up in the shapes of Uncle Sam, butterflies, locomotives, Gabriel tooting on a trumpet, a haggard country doctor astraddle a haggard horse, even a modest metal mermaid.

From Time Magazine Archive

When they arose again, the sturdy gob was discerned astraddle his pontoon busy with his monkey wrench.

From Time Magazine Archive

The used-to-be sheriff sat rakishly astraddle his horse.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou