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:
There’d be a loud pledge to straighten it out.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
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
“A lot of us, our hope is that eventually, history will straighten this all out and say, no, Gloria came in a little later, and her very loyal supporters have backtracked that history.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
“You want to straighten out your press,” Trump said before bringing the conversation to an end.
From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2026
“Well, we better get dressed and straighten up,” she said.
From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry
On her character’s wedding day, Colman traipses into the church like it’s a prank, then nervously straightens up as she realizes this ceremony is serious.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 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
Whatever you wear, I hope you share M&M’s and popcorn with someone who straightens your crown.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
These optical imperfections bend the images of straight lines into gnarled curves that the calibration effectively straightens out.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 26, 2024
She straightens up and waits, I guess to see if I’m going to make a run for it.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
"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
Knightsbridge had a short lead as the two horses passed the mile marker, and when they straightened out in the stretch, the race was over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
She's ready, she says, well, shortly after she's blow dried and straightened her hair.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
She straightened it, and quickly ran her fingers through her hair.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
His grand goal was to reduce flooding, ease navigation and expand commercial shipping capacity by straightening the river’s course and shortening the distance between Basel and Bonn by 50 miles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
For centuries, the UK has modified landscapes to move water off the land as quickly as possible by draining uplands and peatlands, straightening rivers and disconnecting rivers from floodplains.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 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
We may all recoil in horror at “Mar-a-Lago face”—and you might be rolling your eyes at my foray into the world of butt-crack straightening.
From Slate ● Feb. 22, 2026
Henry cranks the wheel left, as instructed, and we fishtail, until he manages to gain control, straightening out, then punches the gas.
From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman
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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.
