straddle

[strad-l] /ˈstræd l/
verb (used without object), straddled, straddling.
1.
to walk, stand, or sit with the legs wide apart; stand or sit astride.
2.
to stand wide apart, as the legs.
3.
to favor or appear to favor both sides of an issue, political division, or the like, at once; maintain an equivocal position.
verb (used with object), straddled, straddling.
4.
to walk, stand, or sit with one leg on each side of; stand or sit astride of:
to straddle a horse.
5.
to spread (the legs) wide apart.
6.
to favor or appear to favor both sides of (an issue, political division, etc.).
noun
7.
an act or instance of straddling.
8.
the distance straddled over.
9.
the taking of a noncommittal position.
10.
Finance.
  1. an option consisting of a put and a call combined, both at the same current market price and for the same specified period.
  2. a similar transaction in securities or futures in which options to buy and sell the same security or commodity are purchased simultaneously in order to hedge one's risk.
Origin
1555-65; apparently frequentative (with -le) of variant stem of stride
Related forms
straddler, noun
straddlingly, adverb
unstraddled, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for straddle

straddle

/ˈstrædəl/
verb
1.
(transitive) to have one leg, part, or support on each side of
2.
(transitive) (US & Canadian, informal) to be in favour of both sides of (something)
3.
(intransitive) to stand, walk, or sit with the legs apart
4.
(transitive) to spread (the legs) apart
5.
(military) to fire a number of shots slightly beyond and slightly short of (a target) to determine the correct range
6.
(intransitive) (in poker, of the second player after the dealer) to double the ante before looking at one's cards
noun
7.
the act or position of straddling
8.
a noncommittal attitude or stand
9.
(commerce) a contract or option permitting its purchaser to either sell or buy securities or commodities within a specified period of time at specified prices. It is a combination of a put and a call option Compare spread (sense 24c)
10.
(athletics) a high-jumping technique in which the body is parallel with the bar and the legs straddle it at the highest point of the jump
11.
(in poker) the stake put up after the ante in poker by the second player after the dealer
12.
(Irish) a wooden frame placed on a horse's back to which panniers are attached
Derived Forms
straddler, noun
Word Origin
C16: frequentative formed from obsolete strad- (Old English strode), past stem of stride
Word Origin and History for straddle
v.

1560s, probably an alteration of stridlen, frequentative of striden (see stride). U.S. colloquial sense of "take up an equivocal position, appear to favor both sides" is attested from 1838. Related: Straddled; straddling. The noun is first recorded 1610s.