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stride

[strahyd]
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verb (used without object), strode, strid·den [strid-n] /ˈstrɪd n/, strid·ing.
  1. to walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience, or arrogance.
  2. to take a long step: to stride across a puddle.
  3. to straddle.
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verb (used with object), strode, strid·den [strid-n] /ˈstrɪd n/, strid·ing.
  1. to walk with long steps along, on, through, over, etc.: to stride the deck.
  2. to pass over or across in one long step: to stride a ditch.
  3. to straddle.
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noun
  1. a striding manner or a striding gait.
  2. a long step in walking.
  3. (in animal locomotion) the act of progressive movement completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position as at the beginning.
  4. the distance covered by such a movement: He was walking a stride or two ahead of the others.
  5. a regular or steady course, pace, etc.
  6. a step forward in development or progress: rapid strides in mastering algebra.
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Idioms
  1. hit one's stride,
    1. to achieve a regular or steady pace or course.
    2. to reach the point or level at which one functions most competently and consistently: The quarterback didn't hit his stride until the second half of the game.
  2. strides, (used with a plural verb) Australian Informal. trousers.
  3. take in stride, to deal with calmly; cope with successfully: She was able to take her sudden rise to fame in stride.
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Origin of stride

before 900; (v.) Middle English striden, Old English strīdan; cognate with Dutch strijden, Low German strīden to stride; (noun) Middle English stride, derivative of the v.; akin to straddle
Related formsstrid·er, nounstrid·ing·ly, adverbout·stride, verb (used with object), out·strode, out·strid·den, out·strid·ing.

Synonyms

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12. advance, progress, headway, improvement.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for stride

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • With the Porters it was jingle of spurs, and stride of the horse.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • Mr Vladimir did not stumble, did not stagger back, did not change his stride.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • At the end of the fourth stride Mr Vladimir felt infuriated and uneasy.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • It must have seemed miraculous to him that we should know already, but he took it all in the stride.

    The Secret Agent

    Joseph Conrad

  • Now they were near the goal, and Leotichides was still leading by a stride.

British Dictionary definitions for stride

stride

noun
  1. a long step or pace
  2. the space measured by such a step
  3. a striding gait
  4. an act of forward movement by an animal, completed when the legs have returned to their initial relative positions
  5. progress or development (esp in the phrase make rapid strides)
  6. a regular pace or rate of progressto get into one's stride; to be put off one's stride
  7. rowing the distance covered between strokes
  8. Also called: stride piano jazz a piano style characterized by single bass notes on the first and third beats and chords on the second and fourth
  9. (plural) informal, mainly Australian men's trousers
  10. take something in one's stride to do something without difficulty or effort
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verb strides, striding, strode or stridden
  1. (intr) to walk with long regular or measured paces, as in haste, etc
  2. (tr) to cover or traverse by stridinghe strode thirty miles
  3. (often foll by over, across, etc) to cross (over a space, obstacle, etc) with a stride
  4. (intr) rowing to achieve the desired rhythm in a racing shell
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Derived Formsstrider, noun

Word Origin

Old English strīdan; related to Old High German strītan to quarrel; see straddle
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 stride

v.

Old English stridan "to straddle," from Proto-Germanic *stridanan (cf. Middle Low German strede "stride," Dutch strijd, Old High German strit, German Streit "fight, contention, combat," Old Norse striðr "strong, hard, stubborn, severe"), from root *strid- "to strive, make a strong effort." Meaning "to walk with long or extended steps" is from c.1200. Cognate words in most Germanic languages mean "to fight, struggle;" the notion behind the English usage might be the effort involved in making long strides, striving forward.

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n.

"a step in walking," Old English stride, from the root of stride (v.). Figurative meaning in make strides "make progress" is from c.1600. To take (something) in stride (1832), i.e. "without change of gait," originally is of horses leaping hedges in the hunting-field; figurative sense attested from 1902. Jazz music stride tempo is attested from 1938.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with stride

stride

see hit one's stride; make great strides; take in stride.

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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.