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

“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

The Permian Basin — the country’s largest oil field, which straddles the Texas-New Mexico border — was estimated by a 2024 study to emit the second-most methane of any oil field in the world.

From Salon

A jagged behemoth straddling the China-Pakistan border, it is a mountain with a fearsome reputation.

From BBC

The Archers straddled those worlds of agriculture and broadcast, with the drama dreamt up as a creative way to inform farmers about new farming methods while entertaining people too.

From BBC