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bestride

[bih-strahyd]
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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.
  3. to stand or tower over; dominate.
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Origin of bestride

before 1000; Middle English bestriden, Old English bestrīdan. See be-, stride
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bestride

escalate, rise, soar, arise, scale, ascend, back, up, lift, vault, tower, bestride, escalade, stride, mount, hedge, sprawl, overlook, survey, overtop

Examples from the Web for bestride

Historical Examples of bestride

  • Sheer audacity is at times the surest steed a man can bestride.

    To Have and To Hold

    Mary Johnston

  • After the death of his master no one was permitted to bestride that good horse.

  • These lads are as lithe and lean as the ponies they bestride.

    The Little Lady of Lagunitas

    Richard Henry Savage

  • Mr. Clarke had the honour to bestride the loins of Bronzomarte.

  • He seemed to bestride it as we could imagine Alexander bestriding his Bucephalus.

    Here and There in London

    J. Ewing Ritchie

British Dictionary definitions for bestride

bestride

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
  3. to stride over or across
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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

Word Origin and History for bestride

v.

Old English bestridan "to bestride, mount," from be- + stridan "to stride" (see stride). Cf. Middle Dutch bestryden.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper