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saddle

[sad-l]
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noun
  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.
    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(def 7).
  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), sad·dled, sad·dling.
  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.
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verb (used without object), sad·dled, sad·dling.
  1. to put a saddle on a horse (often followed by up).
  2. to mount into the saddle (often followed by up).
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Idioms
  1. in the saddle,
    1. in a position to direct or command; in control.
    2. at work; on the job.
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Origin of saddle

before 900; (noun) Middle English sadel, Old English sadol; cognate with German Sattel, Old Norse sǫthull; (v.) Middle English sad(e)len, Old English sadolian, derivative of the noun; akin to sit1
Related formssad·dle·less, adjectivesad·dle·like, adjectivere·sad·dle, verb, re·sad·dled, re·sad·dling.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

seat, pillion, howdah, packsaddle

Examples from the Web for saddle

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Stephen caught the bridle, and Ambrose helped the burgess into the saddle.

    The Armourer's Prentices

    Charlotte M. Yonge

  • He leaned over the saddle and spurred the pinto into his racing gait.

  • Andy turned in the saddle and grinned back at the followers.

  • Then, still softly and swiftly, he lifted the saddle from its peg and put it on its back.

  • "Give me three minutes to get my saddle on my horse and out of town," said Andrew.

British Dictionary definitions for saddle

saddle

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 (def. 1)
  12. a raised piece of wood or metal for covering a doorsill
  13. in the saddle 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; chargeI didn't ask to be saddled with this job
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Derived Formssaddleless, adjectivesaddle-like, adjective

Word Origin

Old English sadol, sædel; related to Old Norse sothull, Old High German satul
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 saddle

n.

Old English sadol "seat for a rider," from Proto-Germanic *sathulaz (cf. Old Norse söðull, Old Frisian sadel, Dutch zadel, zaal, German Sattel "saddle"), from PIE *sed- (1) "to sit" (cf. Latin sedere "to sit," Old Church Slavonic sedlo "saddle;" see sedentary). Figurative phrase in the saddle "in an active position of management" is attested from 1650s. Saddle stitch (n.) was originally in bookbinding (1887).

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v.

Old English sadolian "to put a riding saddle on;" see saddle (n.). The meaning "to load with a burden" is first recorded 1690s. Related: Saddled; saddling.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
saddle in Medicine

saddle

(săd′l)
n.
  1. A structure shaped like a saddle.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with saddle

saddle

In addition to the idiom beginning with saddle

  • saddle someone with

also see:

  • in the driver's seat (saddle)
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.