straighten

straighten
[[t]stre͟ɪt(ə)n[/t]]
straightens, straightening, straightened
1) VERB If you straighten something, you make it tidy or put it in its proper position.

[V n] She sipped her coffee and straightened a picture on the wall.

[V n] ...tidying, straightening cushions and organising magazines.

2) VERB If you are standing in a relaxed or slightly bent position and then you straighten, you make your back or body straight and upright.

The three men straightened and stood waiting.

Straighten up means the same as straighten.

V P He straightened up and slipped his hands in his pockets.

3) V-ERG If you straighten something, or it straightens, it becomes straight.

[V n] Straighten both legs until they are fully extended...

The road straightened and we were on a plateau.

Phrasal Verbs:
PHR-V-ERG
Straighten out means the same as straighten.

V P n (not pron) No one would dream of straightening out the knobbly spire at Empingham Church... Also V n P V P The road twisted its way up the mountain then straightened out for the last two hundred yards.


English dictionary. 2008.

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Synonyms:

Look at other dictionaries:

  • straighten up — {v.} To put in order; make neat. * /Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming./ * /Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came./ Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • straighten up — {v.} To put in order; make neat. * /Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming./ * /Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came./ Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Straighten — Straight en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Straighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Straighting}.] 1. To make straight; to reduce from a crooked to a straight form. [1913 Webster] 2. To make right or correct; to reduce to order; as, to straighten one s affairs; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • straighten — [strāt′ n] vt., vi. to make or become straight straighten out 1. to make or become less confused, easier to deal with, etc. ☆ 2. to make or become more correct or moral in behavior; reform straighten up to put in good order; make tidy [straighten …   English World dictionary

  • straighten up — (something) to make things neat. Be sure to straighten up your room before you leave. It was only four thirty, and she still had time to straighten things up before the guests arrived …   New idioms dictionary

  • Straighten — Straight en, v. t. A variant of {Straiten}. [Obs. or R.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • straighten — index fix (repair), organize (arrange), rectify Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • straighten — (v.) 1540s, from STRAIGHT (Cf. straight) + EN (Cf. en) (1). Related: Straightened; straightening …   Etymology dictionary

  • straighten — [v] put in neat or aligned order align, arrange, compose, correct, even, level, make plumb, make straight, neaten, order, put in order, put perpendicular, put straight, put to rights, put upright, put vertical, rectify, set to rights, smarten up* …   New thesaurus

  • straighten — ► VERB 1) make or become straight. 2) stand or sit erect after bending …   English terms dictionary

  • straighten — straight|en [ˈstreıtn] v 1.) [I and T] also straighten out to become straight, or to make something straight ▪ Can you straighten your leg? 2.) [i]also straighten up to make your back straight, or to stand up straight after bending down 3.) [T] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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