• IPA: /ˈstɹæd.əl/

straddle (straddles, present participle straddling; past and past participle straddled)

1. To sit or stand with a leg on each side of something; to sit astride.
   • 1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: Printed [by Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], OCLC 731622352 ↗:

     But guess my surprise, when I saw the lazy young rogue lie down on his back, and gently pull down Polly upon him, who giving way to his humour, straddled, and with her hands conducted her blind favourite to the right place

2. To be on both sides of something; to have parts that are in different places, regions, etc.

   Putin seems to be everywhere at once, straddling the ocean, filling the sky, just like Stalin.

3. To consider or favor two apparently opposite sides; to be noncommittal.

   Wanting to please both sides, he straddled the issue.

4. To form a disorderly sprawl; to spread out irregularly.

   This weed straddles the entire garden.

   Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks

5. (military) To fire successive artillery shots in front of and behind of a target, especially in order to determine its range.
6. (poker) To place a voluntary raise prior to receiving cards (only by the first player after the blinds).
7. (intransitive) To stand with the ends staggered; said of the spokes of a wagon wheel where they join the hub.
8. (economy) To execute a commodities market spread.

• astride
• bestride
• straddler
• straddling bus
• stride

• French: enfourcher, se mettre à califourchon
• German: grätschen, spreizen, breitbeinig stehen, mit gespreizten Beinen stehen, rittlings sitzen
• Italian: divaricare, sedersi a cavalcioni
• Portuguese: montar
• Russian: сидеть верхом
• Spanish: a horcajadas, ahorcajarse

• German: überspannen, überbrücken, überdecken, abdecken, überspreizen, sich über beide Seiten erstrecken

• German: vermitteln, ausweichen, zwischen zwei Seiten schwanken

• German: sich verteilen, streuen, sich zerstreuen, sich ausbreiten
• Spanish: desparramar

• Italian: scavalcare

straddle (plural straddles)

1. A posture in which one straddles something.
2. (finance) An investment strategy involving simultaneous trade with put and call options on same security with positions that offset one another.
3. (poker) A voluntary raise made prior to receiving cards by the first player after the blinds.
4. (mining) A vertical mine-timber supporting a set.

• German: Grätsche, Spreize
• Spanish: montarse

straddle (not comparable)

1. Astride.