straighten up
Britishverb
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to become or cause to become erect
-
to reform or become reformed
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.
Now, it is helping the company straighten up its balance sheet—and getting its hands on a major business in return.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2025
There shall be no more merriment, and in the words of Nat King Cole, it is time to straighten up and fly right.
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2025
That caused Biden to straighten up to full attention.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2023
“It’s Africa that’s going to straighten up France when it comes to paternalism, and getting a new perspective.”
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 4, 2023
He talked as he drove along, saying that my school marks showed that if I would just straighten up, I could make something of myself.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
Definitions 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.
