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
see also:
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 of saddle
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
ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2026 This might look like a strip of timber between two waterways, a saddle between two ridge tops, or a flat between a river and a steep hillside. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026 Residents spent years criticizing the EPA’s research and felt the agency was unfairly saddling corporations that owned local mining operations with cleanup costs, news reports show. —Chris Bowling, ProPublica, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for saddle
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Also offers several options here—bench seating, a seat plus a cargo rack, or a sporty saddle—each built into a seating unit that power-locks into place, no tools required. —ArsTechnica, 16 Apr. 2026 This might look like a strip of timber between two waterways, a saddle between two ridge tops, or a flat between a river and a steep hillside. —Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 16 Apr. 2026
Verb
Gas prices also remain elevated, saddling businesses and consumers with higher costs. —ABC News, 23 Apr. 2026 Residents spent years criticizing the EPA’s research and felt the agency was unfairly saddling corporations that owned local mining operations with cleanup costs, news reports show. —Chris Bowling, ProPublica, 15 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for saddle
Cite this Entry
“Saddle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.grautoblog.com/dictionary/saddle. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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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