Stride Meaning
/stɹaɪd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo walk with long steps.
verbTo stand with the legs wide apart; to straddle.
Sentence Examples
You're hitting your stride.
He took it in his stride.
Tom seems to be taking things in stride.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He tries to ____ across the room with long steps to greet her.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The long-distance runner had a very efficient ____, allowing her to cover more ground with less energy.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English striden, from Old English strīdan (“stride”), from Proto-West Germanic *strīdan, from Proto-Germanic *strīdaną. Cognate with Low German striden (“to fight, to stride”), Dutch strijden (“to fight”), German streiten (“to fight, to quarrel”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Mars in the middle of the shining shield / Is grav'd, and strides along the liquid field."
— 1697, Virgil, “The Ninth Book of the Æneis”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC:
"a debtor that not dares to stride a limit"
— 1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iii]:
"For SAC66 is better known as Batty Moss (or Ribblehead) Viaduct - the magnificent, Grade 2-listed, 24-arch structure that strides over the pockmarked ground between Ribblehead station and Blea Moor signal box."
— 2020 May 20, Philip Haigh, “Ribblehead: at the heart of the S&C's survival and its revival”, in Rail, page 26:
"I mean to stride your steed."
— c. 1608–1609 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Coriolanus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ix]:
"The air and manner of the horseman bespoke him of superior order;[…]. The rich housings of the beast he strode, proclaimed its owner of illustrious race; […]"
— 1807, [Miss Guion], chapter II, in The Three Germans. Mysteries Exemplified in the Life of Holstein of Lutztein. A German Romance. […], volume I, London: […] J[ames] F[letcher] Hughes, […], →OCLC, page 26:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
He tries to ____ across the room with long steps to greet her.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The long-distance runner had a very efficient ____, allowing her to cover more ground with less energy.