bestride
/bɪˈstɹaɪd/verb
bestride is spelled B-E-S-T-R-I-D-E: 8 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, bestride means “To be astride something, to stand over or sit on with legs on either side, especially to sit on a horse” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in bestride?
| Letters | 8: B-E-S-T-R-I-D-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 43 million words; the 201,693rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bestride?
Bestride appears about once in every 43 million words in written English, the 201,693rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bestride?
- US /bɪˈstɹaɪd/
- US /bəˈstɹaɪd/
Bestride has 2 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-bestride.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with bestride?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bestride from its last stressed vowel (/aɪd/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bestride
- bestrides present, singular, he/she/it
- bestriding participle, present
- bestrode past, participle
- bestridden participle, past
- bestrid participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bestride mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To be astride something, to stand over or sit on with legs on either side, especially to sit on a horse.
- 2
To stride over, or across.
- 3
To dominate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bestride in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to sit with legs on both sides of something:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chevaucher |
| German | rittlings sitzen |
| Spanish | ahorcajarse |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bestride come from?
From Middle English bestriden, from Old English bestrīdan, from Proto-West Germanic *bistrīdan; equivalent to be- + stride. Compare Dutch bestrijden, German bestreiten.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).