Phrase guide

straighten up

verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

verb

Meaning 1

To become straight, or straighter.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Examples

  • 2006, American Motoryclist - Jan 2006, Victory's Kingpin goes its own way bank the big cruiser into the first of a series of corners, make a few quick left, right, left transitions, then the road straightens up for a stretch...

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To steer straight.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: ambitransitive

Examples

  • 13 October 2010, Blackpool Gazette, 'Bad driving' led to biker death crash He said "As I came out of the bend I went to straighten up the car and it just seemed to be carrying on turning."

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To sit up straight, to stop hunching.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To deal with; to put in order.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

Examples

  • 1994, Mccook Daily Gazette, Jul 12, 1994, Mail Delivery Trying To Get Up To Speed The Postal Service sent a special task force to straighten up the city's problems with a back-to-basics approach

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To tidy; to tidy up.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To clarify.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To start living a reformed life; to adopt a more honest and respectable course of behavior.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, intransitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

verb

Meaning 8

straighten oneself

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • He drew himself up when he talked to his superior

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: draw up, pull up

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: straighten

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.