to place oneself with a leg on either side of; stand or sit astride of
to spread (the legs) wide apart
☆ to take or appear to take both sides of (an issue); avoid committing oneself on
Origin:
freq. of stride
intransitive verb
to sit, stand, or walk with the legs wide apart
to be spread apart: said of the legs
☆ to straddle an issue, argument, etc.; refuse to commit oneself; hedge
noun
the act or position of straddling
the distance straddled
☆ a refusal to commit oneself definitely to either side of an issue, argument, etc.
☆ 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
a salvo of artillery rounds, in which some fall on opposite sides of the target, indicating a hit on or near the target