straight

American  

[streyt] / streɪt /

adjective

• straighter,
  comparative
• straightest
  superlative

1. without a bend, angle, or curve; not curved; direct.

   a straight path.

   Antonyms:

   crooked

2. exactly vertical or horizontal; in a perfectly vertical or horizontal plane.

   a straight table.

3. (of a line) generated by a point moving at a constant velocity with respect to another point.

4. evenly or uprightly formed or set.

   straight shoulders.

5. without circumlocution; frank; candid.

   straight speaking.

   Synonyms:

   direct, open

   Antonyms:

   circuitous

6. honest, honorable, or upright, as conduct, dealings, methods, or persons.

   Synonyms:

   equitable, fair, just, virtuous

7. Informal. reliable, as a report or information.

8. right or correct, as reasoning, thinking, or a thinker.

   Her book on the subject is a cornucopia of sanity, straight thinking, and clear vision.

9. in the proper order or condition.

   Things are straight now.

10. continuous or unbroken.

    in straight succession.

11. thoroughgoing or unreserved.

    a straight Republican.

12. supporting or cast for all candidates of one political party.

    to vote a straight ticket.

13. unmodified or unaltered.

    a straight comedy.

14. without change in the original melody or tempo.

    She does straight songs, with just the piano backing her.

15. Informal.

    1. heterosexual.

    2. traditional; conventional.

    3. free from using narcotics.

    4. not engaged in crime; law-abiding; reformed.

16. not mixed with anything; undiluted, as whiskey.

17. Theater. (of acting) straightforward; not striving for effect.

18. Journalism. written or to be written in a direct and objective manner, with no attempt at individual styling, comment, etc..

    She gave me a straight story.

    Treat it as straight news.

19. Cards. containing cards in consecutive denominations, as a two, three, four, five, and six, in various suits.

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adverb

1. in a straight line.

   to walk straight.

2. in an even form or position.

   pictures hung straight.

3. in an erect posture.

   to stand up straight.

4. directly.

   to go straight to a place.

5. without circumlocution; frankly; candidly (often followed byout ).

6. honestly, honorably, or virtuously.

   to live straight.

7. without intricate involvement; not in a roundabout way; to the point.

8. in a steady course (often followed byon ).

   to keep straight on after the second traffic light.

9. into the proper form or condition; in order.

   to put a room straight.

10. in possession of the truth or of true ideas.

    I want to set you straight before you make mistakes.

11. sold without discount regardless of the quantity bought.

    Candy bars are twenty cents straight.

12. Journalism. directly and objectively.

    Write the circus story straight.

13. without personal embellishments, additions, etc..

    Tell the story straight.

    Sing the song straight.

14. (of liquor) served or drunk without ice, a mixer, or water; neat.

    He drank his whiskey straight.

noun

1. the condition of being straight.

2. a straight form or position.

3. a straight line.

4. a straight part, as of a racecourse.

5. Informal.

   1. a heterosexual.

   2. a person who follows traditional or conventional mores.

   3. a person who is free from narcotics.

6. Chiefly Games. a succession of strokes, plays, etc., which gives a perfect score.

idioms

1. play it straight, to do something without jokes, tricks, subterfuge, distortions, or the like.

   a comedian who plays it straight when he crusades against drug abuse.

2. straight off, without delay; immediately: Also straight away.

   I told him straight off what I thought about the matter.

3. straight up, (of a cocktail) served without ice.

   a gin martini straight up.

4. go straight, to live a law-abiding life; no longer engage in crime.

straight British  

/ streɪt /

adjective

1. not curved or crooked; continuing in the same direction without deviating

2. straightforward, outright, or candid

   a straight rejection

3. even, level, or upright in shape or position

4. in keeping with the facts; accurate

5. honest, respectable, or reliable

6. accurate or logical

   straight reasoning

7. continuous; uninterrupted

8. (esp of an alcoholic drink) undiluted; neat

9. not crisp, kinked, or curly

   straight hair

10. correctly arranged; orderly

11. (of a play, acting style, etc) straightforward or serious

12. journalism (of a story, article, etc) giving the facts without unnecessary embellishment

13. sold at a fixed unit price irrespective of the quantity sold

14. boxing (of a blow) delivered with an unbent arm

    a straight left

15. (of the cylinders of an internal-combustion engine) in line, rather than in a V-formation or in some other arrangement

    a straight eight

16. a slang word for heterosexual

17. informal no longer owing or being owed something

    if you buy the next round we'll be straight

18. slang conventional in views, customs, appearance, etc

19. slang not using narcotics; not addicted

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adverb

1. in a straight line or direct course

2. immediately; at once

   he came straight back

3. in an even, level, or upright position

4. without cheating, lying, or unreliability

   tell it to me straight

5. continuously; uninterruptedly

6. without discount regardless of the quantity sold

7. (often foll by out) frankly; candidly

   he told me straight out

8. informal to reform after having been dishonest or a criminal

noun

1. the state of being straight

2. a straight line, form, part, or position

3. US name: straightaway.  a straight part of a racetrack

4. poker

   1. five cards that are in sequence irrespective of suit

   2. a hand containing such a sequence

   3. ( as modifier )

      a straight flush

5. slang a conventional person

6. slang a heterosexual person

7. slang a cigarette containing only tobacco, without marijuana, etc

straight More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing straight

• (straight) from the horse's mouth
• get something straight
• give it to (someone straight)
• go straight
• keep a straight face
• right (straight) out
• set straight
• shoot straight

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• overstraightness
  noun
• straightness
  noun
• unstraightness
  noun
• overstraight
  adjective
• superstraight
  adjective
• unstraight
  adjective
• overstraightly
  adverb
• straightly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Adjectives

• straighter
  comparative
• straightest
  superlative

Etymology

Origin of straight

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English (adjective), originally past participle of strecchen “to stretch”; see origin at stretch

Explanation

Arrows, sides of a rectangle, well-organized lines of people waiting to get into the theater or the ladies' room, and anything else free from curves can be described as straight. The word can also mean honest, uninterrupted, undiluted, or heterosexual. In Middle English, strecchen meant "to stretch." Streght "stretched" emerged from it and morphed into straight. It's easy to see the connection: If you stretch out a piece of spaghetti or a curl, it looks linear. Today the word means free from bends, breaks, or irregularities literally or figuratively. "Give it to me straight" means "just the facts, ma'am." "I was up for seven straight days" means "I haven't slept in a week."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

straight straighter straightest

It felt like she was looking through a fishbowl, she could see straight ahead but not to her right or down.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

By carefully choosing the size and spacing of these pillars, the team caused light to remain inside the meta-surface slightly longer and circulate within it instead of simply passing straight through.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026

"When we have a success we're very good at getting a leaflet sent out to supporters straight away," one senior MP said.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

He noted that while other neoclouds have depended on convertible-debt offerings and customer prepayments, “CoreWeave has been using primarily straight debt.”

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026

She snapped it out of the water and was looking straight into my eyes from a distance of four or five feet.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

Later, the jet stream will take on a more southerly path, flowing faster and straighter towards our shores.

From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026

Martin Palafox, the second unit director on “Juiced” and one of the straighter shooters in “O.J. Unseen,” says, “I took the show because I needed to eat.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026

The finished bowl is bright enough to make you sit up a little straighter.

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Officers "stood up faster and straighter when he entered a room" and Zhang "wasn't afraid to talk to foreigners", Thompson wrote in a Substack post about his encounter.

From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026

I stood up straighter, because I had been a little hunched in anticipation of the hug that seemed not to be forthcoming.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram

England's plan to Gill was clear after his success at Headingley: their lines were the straightest they have bowled at a batter in 16 years as the pace bowlers targeted the pads.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2025

He’s the straightest cat you will ever meet.

From Salon ● Dec. 15, 2023

Curly, played by Sean Grandillo with the guitar-slinging aplomb of a country-and-western recording star, has the straightest of hair.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2022

Measure for the largest tree you can fit in your space and buy one with the straightest trunk you can find.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 8, 2021

They went back and cut the straightest branch they could find from one of the trees.

From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda

Related Words

• even
• level
• right
• smooth
• solid
• true