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 jeopardy of losing one game is so harsh, it's almost like we don't get another chance to straighten things out," added McDermott.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
When he promises her that he’ll straighten out his life, he sounds as desperate as all the other bad men who’ve tried those same pleas on him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 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
I rarely straighten my mop of thick, curly hair, and when I do, it’s not always a great experience.
From Salon ● Feb. 2, 2026
Inside, with a great deal of joyous bustling that in fact accomplished little, the enchantresses hurried to straighten up the chamber.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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
He visibly straightens and says to Drummond, “Devour feculence,” establishing that this is how he naturally speaks.
From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2025
Clutching the bow in those strong toes, he raises it to chest level and straightens his leg to attain a full draw.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024
My chin tilts up, my shoulders roll back, a vertebra pops in my spine as my posture straightens.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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
I scrambled off the desk and straightened up, still clutching the scissors.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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
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
"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’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
She bends at the waist, twisting her hair inside the towel, before straightening back up again.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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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.
