straight arrow

See synonyms for straight arrow on Thesaurus.com

nounInformal.

a person who manifests high-minded devotion to clean living and moral righteousness.

Origin of straight arrow

First recorded in 1965–70

Other words from straight arrow

straight-arrow, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use straight arrow in a sentence

She remembered her old boss as being “one of those organized, on-top-of-it people” and “a straight arrow.”
The Messiah from Nevada | Rebecca Dana | October 21, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
For Al Gore, who always seemed like the ultimate straight arrow, that kind of freedom must be mind-blowing.
The Gore Marriage: Is It Just Like Yours? | Leslie Bennetts | June 2, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
First the strong bow that bends to our hand, then the straight arrow, tough and trim, and the feathers that wing it to its mark.
Dramatic Reader for Lower Grades | Florence Holbrook
Horace Ford, the champion shot, decides in favor of the straight arrow, and our readers cannot do better than take his advice.
Archery Rules | Charles F. A. Hinrichs

British Dictionary definitions for straight arrow

straight arrow

noun

informal, mainly US
- a clean-living and honest person
- (as modifier): a straight-arrow cop

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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