bestride
Americanverb (used with object)
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to get or be astride of; have or place the legs on both sides of.
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to step over or across with long strides.
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to stand or tower over; dominate.
verb
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to have or put a leg on either side of
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to extend across; span
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to stride over or across
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have bestrodeperfect
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have bestriddenperfect
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has bestriddenperfect 3rd person singular
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have bestridperfect
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has bestrodeperfect 3rd person singular
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has bestridperfect 3rd person singular
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has been bestridingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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is bestridingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are bestridingprogressive
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have been bestridingperfect progressive
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am bestridingprogressive 1st person singular
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bestridingparticiple
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bestridessingular 3rd person
Past
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had bestriddenperfect
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had bestridperfect
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had bestrodeperfect
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had been bestridingperfect progressive
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was bestridingprogressive singular
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were bestridingprogressive plural
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bestrodesimple
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bestridsimple
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bestridparticiple
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bestrodeparticiple
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bestriddenparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of bestride
before 1000; Middle English bestriden, Old English bestrīdan. See be-, stride
Vocabulary lists containing bestride
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
For much of his second term, Trump has seemed to bestride the globe, lavishing his attention on a wide range of international issues.
From Slate • Mar. 10, 2026
No Jim Brown, the scourge of defensive backs and Black Power avatar bestride a motorcycle.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2022
It is a rare feat for a civil-rights luminary, even on the local level, to bestride generations, as the dearly missed U.S.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 27, 2020
Solar panels are being nailed to rooftops, colossal wind turbines bestride the plains and oceans, and a million electric vehicles are on U.S. roads — and it isn’t enough.
From Washington Post • Dec. 3, 2018
Frequently he lunged into the drifts with one foot, or both; his glazed mukluk soles slid about, causing him to bestride the invisible hog-back, or again his legs crossed awkwardly, throwing him off his balance.
From The Crimson Gardenia and Other Tales of Adventure by Beach, Rex Ellingwood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
