straddle

[strad-l]

verb (used without object)

straddled, straddling 

1. to walk, stand, or sit with the legs wide apart; stand or sit astride.

2. to stand wide apart, as the legs.

3. to favor or appear to favor both sides of an issue, political division, or the like, at once; maintain an equivocal position.

verb (used with object)

straddled, straddling 

1. to walk, stand, or sit with one leg on each side of; stand or sit astride of.

   to straddle a horse.

2. to spread (the legs) wide apart.

3. to favor or appear to favor both sides of (an issue, political division, etc.).

noun

1. an act or instance of straddling.

2. the distance straddled over.

3. the taking of a noncommittal position.

4. Finance.

   1. an option consisting of a put and a call combined, both at the same current market price and for the same specified period.

   2. a similar transaction in securities or futures in which options to buy and sell the same security or commodity are purchased simultaneously in order to hedge one's risk.

straddle

/ ˈstrædəl /

verb

1. (tr) to have one leg, part, or support on each side of

2. informal,  (tr) to be in favour of both sides of (something)

3. (intr) to stand, walk, or sit with the legs apart

4. (tr) to spread (the legs) apart

5. military to fire a number of shots slightly beyond and slightly short of (a target) to determine the correct range

6. (intr) (in poker, of the second player after the dealer) to double the ante before looking at one's cards

noun

1. the act or position of straddling

2. a noncommittal attitude or stand

3. commerce a contract or option permitting its purchaser to either sell or buy securities or commodities within a specified period of time at specified prices. It is a combination of a put and a call option Compare spread

4. athletics a high-jumping technique in which the body is parallel with the bar and the legs straddle it at the highest point of the jump

5. (in poker) the stake put up after the ante in poker by the second player after the dealer

6. a wooden frame placed on a horse's back to which panniers are attached

Other Word Forms

• straddler noun
• straddlingly adverb
• unstraddled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of straddle¹

1555–65; apparently frequentative (with -le ) of variant stem of stride

Word History and Origins

Origin of straddle¹

C16: frequentative formed from obsolete strad- (Old English strode ), past stem of _stride

Example Sentences

Protecting lives is no easy task in the nation’s most populated county, built on land prone to fires and straddling five active earthquake faults.

From Los Angeles Times

She is psychologically complex, straddling both beautiful sincerity and utter vapidity.

From Los Angeles Times

Such measures require time and evidence to obtain, straddling police and councils and concerning often vulnerable young people.

From BBC

“That’s what was so great about that show — it could straddle those two worlds. And to me, that’s life. You can be laughing and crying within a minute.”

From Los Angeles Times

Hundreds were already digging the foundations in tough conditions for what is now Africa's largest hydro-electric dam, straddling the Blue Nile.

From BBC