bestride

[ bih-strahyd ]
See synonyms for: bestridebestriddenbestridesbestriding on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),be·strode or be·strid, be·strid·den or be·strid, be·strid·ing.
  1. to get or be astride of; have or place the legs on both sides of.

  2. to step over or across with long strides.

  1. to stand or tower over; dominate.

Origin of bestride

1
before 1000; Middle English bestriden,Old English bestrīdan.See be-, stride

Words Nearby bestride

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

How to use bestride in a sentence

  • The chief wanted a brave boy, to bestride a horse and wield a sword, and govern the unruly Grant clan with a strong hand.

    The Pagan's Cup | Fergus Hume
  • It is no known animal which they bestride, having a face something like that of a caterpillar.

    The Coming of the Fairies | Arthur Conan Doyle
  • In the midst a dark and lazy current, which a tall man might bestride, crept twisting like a snake among the weeds and rushes.

  • Leg of man, swears grand old Pierre, shall never more bestride my steed; no more shall harness touch him!

    Pierre; or The Ambiguities | Herman Melville
  • Nobody rode at the Hall, and she longed to bestride a pony and dash off for a twenty-mile canter.

British Dictionary definitions for bestride

bestride

/ (bɪˈstraɪd) /


verb-strides, -striding or -strode or archaic -strid, -stridden or archaic -strid (tr)
  1. to have or put a leg on either side of

  2. to extend across; span

  1. to stride over or across

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