astride

1 of 2

adverb

1
: with one leg on each side : astride a horse
she rode astride, not sidesaddle
2
: with the legs stretched wide apart
standing astride

astride

2 of 2

preposition

1
: on or above and with one leg on each side of
astride a horse
2
: placed or lying on both sides of
towns lying astride a river
3
: extending over or across : spanning, bridging

Examples of astride in a Sentence

Preposition She was sitting astride a horse. The town lies astride a narrow river.
Recent Examples on the Web
Adverb
Bull riders and bareback contestants must stay astride for at least eight seconds in order to be eligible to win and be scored on the quality of their rides. New York Times, 16 Aug. 2022 Stanley Jenkins stands astride the nation as a colossus of American folk food. Fox News, 10 June 2022 He's probably never seen a woman ride astride before. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 4 Feb. 2022 But one man's bronze likeness, that of Robert E. Lee, remained upon Traveller, the horse that the monument's supporters fought to keep him astride. Eliott C. McLaughlin, CNN, 12 Sep. 2021 The boy had his grandmother’s smile, a perched grin with flushed cheeks astride. Kenneth R. Rosen, Wired, 17 Nov. 2020 Bonheur wore her hair short, rode astride instead of sidesaddle, learned how to shoot a gun and occasionally hunted rabbits. Claudine Doury, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Oct. 2020 But these massive irrigation systems don’t sit astride deep green circles of alfalfa. AZCentral.com, 5 Dec. 2019 Do guests even have to like horses, much less get astride one? Janet Fullwood, The Mercury News, 26 Aug. 2019
Preposition
The rest springs to life via a 13.1-inch center screen astride the dashboard, and a 13.7-inch driver’s display that dangles from an awning above. Lawrence Ulrich, Robb Report, 20 Feb. 2024 Gaza’s southernmost city sits astride the frontier with Egypt and is, according to Israeli officials, Hamas’ last redoubt after more than four months of devastating conflict that followed the militant organization’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel. Neri Zilber, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Feb. 2024 Gary sits in the country’s third-largest metropolitan area, astride major railroad crossings and next to a shipping port. Santul Nerkar Akilah Townsend, New York Times, 3 Feb. 2024 Sending it 30 feet skyward, he’s given the Ol’ Man Sac River its Ansel Adams-like star treatment, rendering in tactile black-and-white everything from lush riparian sloughs to teeming tributaries to spawning salmon and splashing Chico State students astride inner tubes. Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 Other images included Baena channeling Schwarzenegger's Terminator character in a leather jacket astride a motorcycle, holding his Conan the Barbarian sword and sitting at a desk surrounded by photos from Schwarzenegger's political career. Jen Juneau, Peoplemag, 3 Nov. 2023 In Jerusalem, for example, who even bothers to look up when a prophet in the throes boards the light rail at the Mount Herzl military cemetery, or when a messiah in white robes astride a white donkey trots down Jaffa Road past the municipal center blowing his horn? Tova Reich, Harper's Magazine, 11 Dec. 2023 Among them is a possible five-terminal system linked end-to-end astride the North Sea coast—to minimize both the converter stations purchased and the cable crossings and landfalls dug across sensitive coastal ecosystems. IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2023 Below us, Vernazza sat astride its promontory, thrusting out into the sea. Julia Buckley, Travel + Leisure, 18 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'astride.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

Adverb

1614, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Preposition

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of astride was in 1614

Dictionary Entries Near astride

Cite this Entry

“Astride.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/astride. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

astride

1 of 2 adverb
: with one leg on each side

astride

2 of 2 preposition
: on or above and with one leg on each side of
astride a horse

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