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saddle with

B2 neutral separable transitive
In simple words

To give someone a problem or responsibility they don't want.

Literal meaning: To put a saddle on an animal — figuratively placing a heavy load on a person.

Meanings

1 B2 idiomatic neutral

To give someone an unwanted or heavy burden, responsibility, or problem to deal with.

"She was saddled with her late father's debts and spent years paying them off."

"We are saddled with this huge national debt."

— Ronald Reagan, various budget speeches, 1980s
Grammar: separable
2 B2 idiomatic informal

To assign an unpleasant or difficult task to someone, often unfairly.

"Every time someone calls in sick, they saddle me with extra work."

Grammar: separable
Usage notes

Almost always used in passive constructions ('be saddled with') or to describe an unfair imposition. The object is typically an undesirable thing: debt, a difficult person, or an unwanted task.

Commonly used with

debt responsibility costs problem task burden

Forms

Base
saddle with
I/you/we/they
3rd person
saddles with
he/she/it
Past simple
saddled with
yesterday
Past participle
saddled with
have + pp
-ing form
saddling with
continuous

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