/ ˈstrædl; NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
to sit or stand with one of your legs on either side of sb/sth :
He swung his leg over the motorcycle, straddling it easily.
2.
to cross, or exist on both sides of, a river, a road or an area of land :
The mountains straddle the French-Swiss border.
3.
to exist within, or include, different periods of time, activities or groups of people :
a writer who straddles two cultures
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WORD ORIGIN
mid 16th cent.: alteration of dialect striddle , back-formation from dialect striddling astride , from stride + the adverbial suffix -ling .