straighten
to make or become straight in direction, form, position, character, conduct, condition, etc. (often followed by up or out).
Origin of straighten
1Other words from straighten
- straight·en·er, noun
- o·ver·straight·en, verb
- pre·straight·en, verb (used with object)
- re·straight·en, verb
- un·straight·ened, adjective
- well-straightened, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use straighten in a sentence
When Scarface was very old he made a shaft-straightener of a piece of reindeer horn.
The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth DoppThe straightener shook his head at this, and laughingly replied that the cure must have been due to nature.
Selections from Previous Works | Samuel ButlerOn the arrival of the straightener he told his story, and expressed his fear that his morals must be permanently impaired.
Selections from Previous Works | Samuel ButlerIt is hardly necessary to say that the office of straightener is one which requires long and special training.
Erewhon | Samuel ButlerThis may have been an ornament, an arrow-shaft straightener, or the holder for a drill or a fire-stick.
Archeological Investigations | Gerard Fowke
British Dictionary definitions for straighten
/ (ˈstreɪtən) /
to make or become straight
(tr) to make neat or tidy: straighten your desk
Derived forms of straighten
- straightener, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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