straighten
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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straightens,
present (3rd person singular)
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straightened,
past participle, past
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straightening
present participle
verb
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to make or become straight
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(tr) to make neat or tidy
straighten your desk
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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straightenernoun
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overstraightenverb
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restraightenverb
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prestraightenverb (used with object)
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unstraightenedadjective
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well-straightenedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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straightensimple
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straightenssimple
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have straightenedperfect
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has straightenedperfect
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am straighteningprogressive
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are straighteningprogressive
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is straighteningprogressive
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have been straighteningperfect progressive
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has been straighteningperfect progressive
Past
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straightenedsimple
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had straightenedperfect
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was straighteningprogressive
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were straighteningprogressive
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had been straighteningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of straighten
Explanation
When you straighten something, you either unbend it or tidy it up. So you might straighten your legs, get off the couch, and straighten the room. To make something straight is to straighten it. When you uncross your legs and stretch them out in front of you, you straighten them. And if you adjust a picture on the wall so it's perfectly level, you straighten it. In the the 14th century, the equivalent verb was straight — so in those days, your mom would have said, "Straight your bedroom before you go out with your friends!"
Vocabulary lists containing straighten
List 10
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"The Giving Tree"
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Spelling Practice 3, Unit 4
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The researchers identified four characteristics that can help determine whether a tilted tropical cyclone is likely to straighten vertically.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
“You want to straighten out your press,” Trump said before bringing the conversation to an end.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
“If there are, we’ll have to straighten it out, but I don’t think there’s too many significant differences,” Trump said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
Her forfeit was to straighten her mop of curly hair for the team's evening meal.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
“We’ll get there and I’ll finish—” She sits up straighten “We just gotta get to Mexico.”
From "Clean Getaway" by Nic Stone
Word spreads that Sparks starter Kelsey Plum will be there soon and everyone straightens up.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
The Mercator map is arguably the best for this purpose, because it straightens out spiraling rhumb lines, and that’s why it rose to dominance.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
He straightens it out and enhances its faded colour with careful strokes of a pencil.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2025
Whatever you wear, I hope you share M&M’s and popcorn with someone who straightens your crown.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
He clears his throat and straightens his shoulders, then turns squarely to the Director and says, “You need to leave now.”
From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed
Instead of maintaining their curved shapes, the stems slowly straightened until they became nearly straight again.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
"If there is a problem, I will get it straightened out," he said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
“It’ll be back down once we get things straightened out.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Their mother, whom Jerry has been looking after, is dying, and there are medical bills that need to be straightened out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026
Ambuya straightened up and put her hands on her hips.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
To determine what caused this change, the team examined the structure of the wood that developed during the straightening process.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
"Expansion and straightening cause water to drain away into the North Sea and Baltic Sea even faster, rather than being retained in the surrounding area."
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
“It is a little more of the same, but it is going to be straightening out,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
“We’re supposed to be bright and alert pupils with intelligent and witty repartee,” Cumberbatch says, straightening up with feigned attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2025
He always barked and sometimes, even in daytime, he would start from under the porch, the hair on his back straightening before anyone had sighted a moving speck at the far end of the road.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
