Dictionary.com
definitions

saddle

[sad-l]
See more synonyms for saddle on Thesaurus.com
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.
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.
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).
Idioms
  1. in the saddle,
    1. in a position to direct or command; in control.
    2. at work; on the job.

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 for saddle

seat, pillion, howdah, packsaddle

Examples from the Web for saddle

Contemporary Examples of saddle

Historical Examples of saddle

  • 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
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
Derived Formssaddleless, adjectivesaddle-like, adjective

Word Origin for saddle

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).

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
saddle in Medicine

saddle

[săd′l]
n.
  1. A structure shaped like a saddle.
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)
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.