Illustration of saddle
- 1 western
- 2 English
often attributive
1
a(1)
: a girthed usually padded and leather-covered seat for the rider of an animal (such as a horse)
(2)
: a part of a driving harness comparable to a saddle that is used to keep the breeching in place
b
: a seat to be straddled by the rider of a vehicle (such as a bicycle)
2
: a device mounted as a support and often shaped to fit the object held
3
a
: a ridge connecting two higher elevations
b
: a pass in a mountain range
4
a
: both sides of the unsplit back of a carcass including both loins
b
: a colored marking on the back of an animal
c
: the rear part of a male fowl's back extending to the tail see duck illustration
5
: the central part of the spine of the binding of a book
6
: a piece of leather across the instep of a shoe
saddled; saddling
ˈsa-dᵊl-iŋ 
ˈsad-liŋ
1
: to put a saddle on
2
a
: to place under a burden or encumbrance
b
: to place (an onerous responsibility) on a person or group
: to mount a saddled horse
Synonyms
Examples of saddle in a Sentence
Noun
the next day's hike was a stiff climb out of the saddle where they had camped for the night
Verb
He saddled his horse and mounted it.
to the social worker it seemed as though her supervisor had once again saddled her with a truly hopeless case
Recent Examples on the Web
Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 17 Nov. 2024
Some go into television instead, and some never get back in the saddle.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2024
Allison Morrow, CNN, 22 Nov. 2024
Xi said China would carry out 30 infrastructure projects across the continent as part of his Belt and Road initiative, which has been criticized as saddling countries with debt.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for saddle 
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Noun
Hoyt is among the 500 adult volunteers who keep the program running so the 900 kid and teen riders can stay in the saddle.
—Elizabeth Hernandez, The Denver Post, 17 Nov. 2024
Some go into television instead, and some never get back in the saddle.
—Damon Wise, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2024
Verb
Target companies often resort to laying off staff and making other other aggressive cost-cutting measures to service the debts their private equity owners saddled them with to avoid going under.
—Allison Morrow, CNN, 22 Nov. 2024
Xi said China would carry out 30 infrastructure projects across the continent as part of his Belt and Road initiative, which has been criticized as saddling countries with debt.
—Janis MacKey Frayer, NBC News, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for saddle
Dictionary Entries Near saddle
Cite this Entry
“Saddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saddle. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
saddle
1 of 2 noun
sad·dle
ˈsad-ᵊl
1
a
: a padded and leather-covered seat for a horseback rider
b
: a padded part of a harness
c
: a bicycle or motorcycle seat
2
: something like a saddle in shape, position, or use
especially
: a support for an object
Medical Definition
saddle
noun
sad·dle
ˈsad-ᵊl
: the part of a partial denture that carries an artificial tooth and has connectors for adjacent teeth attached to its ends
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