straighten up

verb

1. to become or cause to become erect

2. to reform or become reformed

Idioms and Phrases

Make tidy, as in Let's get this room straightened up. [Second half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

I see him wipe his eyes and straighten up, his jaw clenching.

Read more on Literature

“Well, Katherine and I were just drying dishes and straightening up. Why don’t you come join us in the kitchen?”

Read more on Literature

For the next half hour, he straightened up and tried to fix the television as his sons, his daughter-in-law, and a grandchild gathered outside the house.

Read more on Literature

Now, it is helping the company straighten up its balance sheet—and getting its hands on a major business in return.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

There shall be no more merriment, and in the words of Nat King Cole, it is time to straighten up and fly right.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• bathe 
• brush 
• cleanse 
• clear up 
• disinfect 
• dredge 
• dust 
• mop 
• pick 
• pick up 
• rinse 
• scrape 
• scrub 
• soak 
• spruce up 
• sweep 
• vacuum 
• wash 
• wipe