transitive verb straddled -·dled, straddling -·dling

1. to place oneself with a leg on either side of; stand or sit astride of
2. to spread (the legs) wide apart
3. ☆ to take or appear to take both sides of (an issue); avoid committing oneself on

Etymology: freq. of stride

intransitive verb

1. to sit, stand, or walk with the legs wide apart
2. to be spread apart: said of the legs
3. ☆ to straddle an issue, argument, etc.; refuse to commit oneself; hedge

noun

1. the act or position of straddling
2. the distance straddled
3. ☆ a refusal to commit oneself definitely to either side of an issue, argument, etc.
4. ☆ in securities and commodities trading, the holding of two options, a put and a call, as on the same stock, each option having the same specified price and expiration date: a straddle allows an investor to profit from, or protect against, swings in the price of the stock
5. a salvo of artillery rounds, in which some fall on opposite sides of the target, indicating a hit on or near the target