stride

American  

[strahyd] / straɪd /

verb (used without object)

• strides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strode,
  past participle,  past
• stridden,
  past participle
• striding
  present participle

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)

• strides,
  present (3rd person singular)
• strode,
  past participle,  past
• stridden,
  past participle
• striding
  present participle

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.

noun

• strides
  plural

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.

   Synonyms:

   improvement, headway, progress, development, advancement

7. Australian Informal. strides, trousers.

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. take in stride, to deal with calmly; cope with successfully.

   She was able to take her sudden rise to fame in stride.

stride British  

/ straɪd /

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 progress

   to 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. informal (plural) men's trousers

10. to do something without difficulty or effort

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verb

1. (intr) to walk with long regular or measured paces, as in haste, etc

2. (tr) to cover or traverse by striding

   he strode thirty miles

3. to cross (over a space, obstacle, etc) with a stride

4. (intr) rowing to achieve the desired rhythm in a racing shell

stride More Idioms  

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

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strider
  noun
• outstride
  verb (used with object)
• stridingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• strides
  plural

Participles

• striding
  present
• stridden
  past
• strode
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• stride
  simple
• strides
  simple
• have stridden
  perfect
• have strode
  perfect
• has stridden
  perfect
• has strode
  perfect
• am striding
  progressive
• are striding
  progressive
• is striding
  progressive
• have been striding
  perfect progressive
• has been striding
  perfect progressive

Past

• strode
  simple
• had stridden
  perfect
• had strode
  perfect
• was striding
  progressive
• were striding
  progressive
• had been striding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will stride
  simple
• will have stridden
  perfect
• will have strode
  perfect
• will be striding
  progressive
• will have been striding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of stride

First recorded before 900; (verb) Middle English striden, Old English strīdan; cognate with Dutch strijden, Low German strīden “to stride”; (noun) Middle English stride, derivative of the verb; akin to straddle

Explanation

The noun stride means "significant progress." You might make a huge stride towards making peace with the rival school by hosting a block party and inviting their students. The noun stride also means "a step made while running or walking." If you are bored, you can count your strides between home and the bus stop. As a verb, stride means "to walk or run by taking long steps." Elite runners stride, making it look easy. But even if you are a slow jogger, don't give up — you make great strides to improve your health when you exercise regularly.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stride strides strode stridden striding

When there are unknowns about how an industry will metabolize certain technological changes, they want to hire someone who bounces back from mistakes and takes setbacks in stride.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026

So he did, matching Garton stride for stride before losing his breakfast all over himself.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

But she has taken such criticisms in stride, saying critics fail to see her hard work behind the scenes.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

Markets took the announcement largely in stride, a contrast to Friday’s reaction to Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3, which sparked a global selloff in AI stocks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Fig mirrored my lead, snaking in and out of my stride.

From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas

As a result, their strides were shorter, and their walking speeds were slower.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

While the “Heartstopper” team expected the series to resonate with younger audiences, they have been particularly moved by the reactions of older queer viewers, who have marveled at the strides in LGBTQ+ representation onscreen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

Anyway, when the couple angrily strides across the street to confront Max, we’re supposed to be in their corner.

From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2026

Soccer, as it's known in the US, has made big strides in the country since it last hosted the men's tournament in 1994.

From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026

The new head matron took two strides into the cell; she did not need the cot to reach the overhead bulb.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Savannah crossed town to the University of Arizona, her alma mater, and strode the quad in sunglasses and a sundress, trailed by the marching band playing the school’s fight song, “Bear Down, Arizona.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

Outreach workers with ID lanyards strode through the trash-strewn landscape like lifeguards working against endless tides of fresh emergencies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

"I'm the boss," Trump said as he strode in to the morning session of the last day, with the other leaders already in their seats.

From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026

After summoning the White House press pool, Trump strode to a podium bearing the presidential seal and, unprompted, declared that the “lies” linking her to Jeffrey Epstein had to end.

From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2026

Tansy strode to the library shelf and pulled out the blue-backed Webster speller.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

And it is into this perceived vacuum that Andy Burnham has stridden, again, to the intense irritation of Downing Street and plenty of Labour MPs.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025

He had stridden through the deep woods with no thought of danger; he concentrated only on finding the pair that he had seen so close to death.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry

Then, half-mad with grief, the old man had flung the reins across the steaming beast, and without a word of explanation had stridden away in the direction of Sallertaine.

From Autumn Glory The Toilers of the Field by Ren? Bazin

He had never scrupled to thrust from his path whoever or whatever stood in his way, and had stridden on without a backward glance.

From The Bell in the Fog and Other Stories by Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton

But already John Willie had stridden on ahead.

From Mushroom Town by Oliver Onions

Then he spots Argentine rapper Trueno striding across the stadium floor, and rushes over for a hug.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026

One imagines not the ghost of Cathy or Heathcliff, but a trio of women, very much alive and striding through the heather, their minds alight with the stories they would tell, set among similar terrain.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2026

It will be Vance striding toward planes in photographs and Vance standing behind podiums to explain why negotiations aren’t working.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2026

Known as the Klaebo stride, or Klæbo-klyvet in Norwegian, it’s a running style used on steep uphills where he essentially sprints on his skis, leaving competitors who use traditional diagonal striding behind.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

As I was coming out, I saw it was Miss Buckner striding toward the offices.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Related Words

• stalk
• traipse
• tramp