straddle

straddle [strad′'l]

vt.

straddled, straddling [freq. of STRIDE]

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

vi.

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

n.

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

straddler [strad′lər]

n.