STRADDLES Synonyms: 110 Similar and Opposite Words

straddles

verb

present tense third-person singular of straddle

as in perches

to be in or move into a seated or standing position with your legs on either side of (something) She straddled the horse and waited for her riding partner to mount.

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

as in spans

to be on both sides of (something) The town straddles the river. The movie straddles the line between comedy and drama.

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

as in shakes

to agree with or seem to agree with two opposite sides of (something) The politician straddled the issue for weeks.

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of straddles And as a guy in power armor, Iron Man straddles the line of being a mecha, but his Marvel Tokon design spotlights Gundam and Tekkaman influences. — Jordan Minor, PC Magazine, 11 Aug. 2026 The brand is the latest in the Iris portfolio that straddles health and aesthetics. — Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 31 July 2026 The discovery, published July 22 in the journal Nature, centers on brown bullhead catfish living in Lake Memphremagog, which straddles the Vermont-Quebec border. — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 28 July 2026 Her approach often straddles a line that others have not been able to successfully navigate, one GOP strategist said. — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 27 July 2026 Merton Council approved the AELTC’s plans in October 2023, but they were rejected by Wandsworth Council (the club straddles both areas) a month later. — Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 24 July 2026 Every year, the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department conducts a fish census in Lake Memphremagog, which straddles northern Vermont and the Canadian province of Quebec. — Ari Daniel, NPR, 22 July 2026 In two video clips, which were sent to the Statesman by a witness, the man is face-first on the ground while one of the officers straddles him and pushes his head into the sidewalk. — Alex Brizee july 17, Idaho Statesman, 17 July 2026 Gallup-McKinley, a sprawling district twice the size of Delaware, straddles part of the Navajo Nation and has the largest Native American student population of any public school district in the country. — Bryant Furlow, ProPublica, 13 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for straddles

Verb

Head to Stoos, which perches on a plateau at the base of the Fronalpstock in central Switzerland.

— Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 24 May 2026
Live streams from entertainment events like the Grammys or Golden Globes aren’t typically perches for controversy, but, says Anthony McCartney, AP’s entertainment and lifestyles editor, celebrities will sometimes be asked to weigh in on recent headlines.

— Brian Steinberg, Variety, 16 Mar. 2026

Definition of perches

Verb

The company, founded in 1995, has grown through a combination of scale and acquisitions, building an operation that spans much of the food supply chain.

— Brandon Gomez, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Their range spans northern Mexico to southern Canada, but northern Arizona is a hotspot — the bats have taken to roosting on the walls of the Grand Canyon.

— Shi En Kim, AZCentral.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of spans

Verb

And the reduced flow of goods through one of the world’s most consequential shipping lanes could create a ripple effect that shakes the world’s economy.

— Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 26 Aug. 2026
Miami likely will hold off on signing a 15th player to a standard contract, at least for now, in order to see who shakes free in the buyout market.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of shakes

Verb

The InnoAsia Startup Demo Jam sits at the center of the first track, with nine companies, drawn from the open call and international partner recommendations, pitching AI, virtual production and digital-asset technologies to investors and buyers.

— Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 26 Aug. 2026
Because this threshold sits far beyond the operational temperatures of the core, the coolant cannot flash into steam.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of sits

Verb

In the video, the subject ducks his head in the opposite direction of the doorbell camera.

— Michael Ruiz , Adam Sabes , Christina Dugan Ramirez , Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Julia Bonavita , Peter D'Abrosca , Alexandra Koch , Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 3 Feb. 2026
The sun ducks down and sets Conejo Mountain against warm pinks and purples, transforming the ridgeline into an epic silhouette.

— Brian Hamilton, New York Times, 17 Oct. 2025

Definition of ducks

Verb

The area sprawls across six English counties including Gloucestershire, where King Charles III and Queen Camilla often spend time at Highgrove, their private country residence.

— Jennifer Hassan, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
Great Basin National Park Great Basin’s beauty sprawls across 77,000 acres, with sky-high peaks, limestone caves, tranquil lakes, and groves of ancient Bristlecone pines, some of which are among the oldest trees on Earth.

— Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of sprawls

Verb

This skin-crawling faux-documentary concerns a prolific New York serial killer who evades capture despite recording his brazen crimes.

— Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 7 July 2026
However, Noussair Mazraoui evades Casemiro’s challenge far too easily before Bilal El Khannouss releases Achraf Hakimi on the far side.

— Mark Carey, New York Times, 6 July 2026