bestride

[ bih-strahyd ]

verb (used with object)

, be·strode or be·strid, be·strid·den or be·strid, be·strid·ing.

1. to get or be astride of; have or place the legs on both sides of.
2. to step over or across with long strides.
3. to stand or tower over; dominate.

bestride

/ bɪˈstraɪd /

verb

1. to have or put a leg on either side of
2. to extend across; span
3. to stride over or across

Word History and Origins

Origin of bestride¹

before 1000; Middle English bestriden, Old English bestrīdan. See be-, stride

Example Sentences

CEO Masayoshi Son's attempt to bestride the tech investing industry has suffered a series of high-profile reversals after outsized bets through SoftBank's first Vision Fund turned sour and investments made at bubbly valuations via a smaller second fund slumped.

From Reuters

No Jim Brown, the scourge of defensive backs and Black Power avatar bestride a motorcycle.

From Los Angeles Times

Russian mercenaries with the same shadowy Wagner Group now fighting in Ukraine bestride the Central African Republic, a country rich in gold and diamonds.

From New York Times

Should the masterminds of this catastrophe bestride their golden hoard like Smaug while nations sink beneath the waves, the Mississippi runs dry and millions of Latin Americans and Africans flee drought and starvation for refuge in Europe and the United States?

From Washington Post

Literary London is more than the books we read, the plays we watch or the poets who bestride its stages: It has a thriving infrastructure designed to widen participation and create a literary culture for everyone, not just the privileged few.

From New York Times

Related Words

• arise
• escalate
• go up
• rise
• soar