stride
Americanverb (used without object)
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strides,
present (3rd person singular)
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strode,
past participle, past
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stridden,
past participle
-
striding
present participle
-
to walk with long steps, as with vigor, haste, impatience, or arrogance.
-
to take a long step.
to stride across a puddle.
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to straddle.
verb (used with object)
-
strides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
strode,
past participle, past
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stridden,
past participle
-
striding
present participle
-
to walk with long steps along, on, through, over, etc..
to stride the deck.
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to pass over or across in one long step.
to stride a ditch.
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to straddle.
noun
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strides
plural
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a striding manner or a striding gait.
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a long step in walking.
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(in animal locomotion) the act of progressive movement completed when all the feet are returned to the same relative position as at the beginning.
-
the distance covered by such a movement.
He was walking a stride or two ahead of the others.
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a regular or steady course, pace, etc.
-
a step forward in development or progress.
rapid strides in mastering algebra.
- Synonyms:
- improvement, headway, progress, development, advancement
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Australian Informal. strides, trousers.
idioms
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hit one's stride,
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to achieve a regular or steady pace or course.
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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.
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-
take in stride, to deal with calmly; cope with successfully.
She was able to take her sudden rise to fame in stride.
noun
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a long step or pace
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the space measured by such a step
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a striding gait
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an act of forward movement by an animal, completed when the legs have returned to their initial relative positions
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progress or development (esp in the phrase make rapid strides )
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a regular pace or rate of progress
to get into one's stride
to be put off one's stride
-
rowing the distance covered between strokes
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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
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informal (plural) men's trousers
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to do something without difficulty or effort
verb
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(intr) to walk with long regular or measured paces, as in haste, etc
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(tr) to cover or traverse by striding
he strode thirty miles
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to cross (over a space, obstacle, etc) with a stride
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(intr) rowing to achieve the desired rhythm in a racing shell
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stridesimple
-
stridessimple
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have striddenperfect
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have strodeperfect
-
has striddenperfect
-
has strodeperfect
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am stridingprogressive
-
are stridingprogressive
-
is stridingprogressive
-
have been stridingperfect progressive
-
has been stridingperfect progressive
Past
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strodesimple
-
had striddenperfect
-
had strodeperfect
-
was stridingprogressive
-
were stridingprogressive
-
had been stridingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing stride
"Of Mice and Men"
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100 Great Words from "Fahrenheit 451" -- Part I Vocabulary
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
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 investors more often took that pressure in stride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Her performances in Glasgow will have raised the expectation levels for her again but O'Connor is getting used to dealing with and taking all that outside noise in her stride.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
Fig wound in and out of my stride, with an occasional meow reminder of the more pertinent matter at hand.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
She told broadcaster ABC the sport had made strides in dealing with issues like sexism and racism in recent years, but added:
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
As a result, their strides were shorter, and their walking speeds were slower.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
“He’s made tremendous strides this offseason. He’s going to get turned loose.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 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
I take a few strides farther down the road and find an archway in the trees where the gravel road turns into a large parking lot.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
"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
When Graham Potter strode out to Sweden training last week donning a Stetson, it was a bit of fun to get into the World Cup mood as they prepared for the tournament in Texas.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Fast forward to Monday, when Son strode out of a black Mercedes at the Élysée Palace to be fêted by Emmanuel Macron—the fourth world leader to publicly host him in the past two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
Will Smith crouched, his left knee on the ground and his mitt grazing the dirt as his Team USA teammate, Mason Miller, strode towards the plate.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Beejee strode over holding a pale white potato, which somewhat resembled the shape and color of his head.
From "The First State of Being" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
But Foster was a man not easily daunted by such things, and he had stridden on manfully, fully occupied by his own thoughts, till he reached the stile where the footpath to the ruins began.
From True to his Colours The Life that Wears Best by D. A. Helm
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
For just then I nearly jumped out of my chair on hearing the major’s voice asking for Captain Brace, and the next moment he had stridden into the room.
From Gil the Gunner The Youngest Officer in the East by William Heysham Overend
Its red-white-and-blue website shows the Statue of Liberty and a person wearing a cowboy hat striding with a partner through amber waves of grain.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rangzen's livestream of his death shows a heavy-set man striding across a street in a traditional "chuba" robe and planting a Tibetan flag outside the UN.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
Substitute Vladimir Smicer snuck another from long range before a striding Gerrard was clipped by Gennaro Gattuso.
From BBC ● May 28, 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
He spun around and found Dimple striding toward him, practically running, her hair streaming behind her.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
