straight

play

adjective \ ˈstrāt \

Definition of straight

1 a :free from curves, bends, angles, or irregularities

straight hair

straight timber

b :generated by a point moving continuously in the same direction and expressed by a linear equation

a straight line

the straight segment of a curve

2 a :lying along or holding to a direct or proper course or method

a straight thinker

b :candid, frank

a straight answer

c :coming directly from a trustworthy source

a straight tip on the horses

d (1) :having the elements in an order

the straight sequence of events

(2) :consecutive

12 straight days

e :having the cylinders arranged in a single straight line

a straight 8-cylinder engine

f :plumb, vertical

the picture isn't quite straight

3 a :exhibiting honesty and fairness

straight dealing

b :properly ordered or arranged

set the kitchen straight

set us straight on that issue

; also :correct

get the facts straight

c :free from extraneous matter :unmixed

straight whiskey

d :marked by no exceptions or deviations in support of a principle or party

votes a straight Democratic ticket

e :having a fixed price for each regardless of the number sold

f :not deviating from an indicated pattern

writes straight humor

a straight-A student

g (1) :exhibiting no deviation from what is established or accepted as usual, normal, or proper :conventional; also :square 5f

(2) :not using or under the influence of drugs or alcohol

h :heterosexual

4 :being the only form of remuneration

on straight commission

—

straightish

play \ˈstrā-tish\ adjective

—

straightly

adverb

—

straightness

noun

See straight defined for English-language learners

See straight defined for kids

Examples of straight in a Sentence

She has long, straight hair.
The flagpole is perfectly straight.
The picture isn't quite straight.
We sat in the airport for five straight hours.

Recent Examples of straight from the Web

The SEC has now led the NFL Draft count among conferences for 10 straight years.

— manny navarro, miamiherald, "Can anybody in the SEC stop Alabama? Breaking down the conference," 29 Aug. 2017
Allie Zink came to the service line and the Bulldogs reeled off eight straight points to force a tie before Waubonsie outside hitter Cassie Chinn put down a kill off a set from sophomore Melissa Walden to end the run.

— rick armstrong, Naperville Sun, "Strong finish against Batavia bodes well for Gisela Bode, Waubonsie Valley," 29 Aug. 2017
With Avery Wasdin serving, Mobile broke the game open with six straight points.

— mobile athletics, AL.com, "(RV) Mobile Earn Two More Wins on Saturday to Remain Unbeaten in 2017," 26 Aug. 2017
Hudson Valley won its 12th straight game Wednesday night.

— randy mcroberts, The Aegis, "IronBirds snap streak, edge Staten Island, 4-3," 24 Aug. 2017
Gomez went through baseball activities for a second straight day, this time adding hitting in the cage, and expects to be reinstated from the 10-day disabled list Saturday.

— jeff wilson, star-telegram, "Rangers put Gallo on concussion list, but it isn’t as bad as it seems," 22 Aug. 2017
Lewis, who was always quick to praise Martin’s comic timing and self-deprecating wit didn’t think of Martin as a straight man.

— gary susman, vanityfair.com, "Jerry Lewis, Comedic Force of Nature, Dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017
Nobody buys it, not yet — and definitely not after a second straight unimpressive performance.

— david haugh, chicagotribune.com, "Mike Glennon has done nothing to deserve Bears' starting quarterback job," 20 Aug. 2017
Lewis, who was always quick to praise Martin’s comic timing and self-deprecating wit didn’t think of Martin as a straight man.

— gary susman, HWD, "Jerry Lewis, Comedic Force of Nature, Dies at 91," 20 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'straight.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of straight

Middle English streght, straight, from past participle of strecchen to stretch — more at stretch

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

straight Synonyms

Synonyms

direct, linear, right, straightaway, straightforward

Antonyms

bad, black, dishonest, dishonorable, evil, evil-minded, immoral, indecent, sinful, unethical, unrighteous, wicked, wrong

Related Words

unbent, uncurled, untwisted; undeviating, unswerving

Near Antonyms

bowed, rounded; entwined, kinked, swirled, turned, turning, twined, twining, twisted, twisting, veering, warped; bending, coiled, coiling, corkscrew, curled, curling, curved, curving, looped, looping, spiral, spiraling (or spiralling), wavy, winding; meandering, weaving; devious, serpentine, sinuous; crooked, zigzag, zigzagging

straight

adverb

Definition of straight

:in a straight manner

came straight home from work

See straight defined for English-language learners

Examples of straight in a Sentence

She walked straight up to him and slapped him in the face.
The tunnel goes straight through the mountain.
The library is straight ahead.
He was so drunk he couldn't walk straight.
She sat with her legs straight out.
The tree fell straight down.
The car went straight off the road.
She told him straight to his face that she hated him.
Pine trees stood straight along the path.
Sit up straight and don't slouch.

Recent Examples of straight from the Web

Dustin Horter can’t do three straight, but two in a row definitely is in reach.

— mark schmetzer, Cincinnati.com, "Horter paces 2017 Greater Cincinnati boys cross country runners," 25 Aug. 2017
Those uncharacteristically staid and inclusive words, read straight from a teleprompter, were precisely the kind of statement that most Americans expected the president to make last Saturday after the attack in Charlottesville, and to stick to.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Trump's Vacation Is Over," 23 Aug. 2017
Adair drove straight to Pick Up Stix and bought Chinese noodles.

— jeff maysh, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Cop Who Became a Robber," 22 Aug. 2017
Leapfrogging Africa’s telecom industry has exploded in recent years, leapfrogging traditional fixed-line infrastructure and moving straight into mobile phones and Internet services.

— anna hirtenstein, Bloomberg.com, "The Plan to Turn Africa’s Mobile Phone Towers Green," 21 Aug. 2017
Kevin’s key went straight into the pocket of his jeans.

— alden woods, azcentral, "$200 from home: Renters in the housing crisis are often stuck between help and affordability," 17 Aug. 2017
Get the results of Ink’s neighborhood bracket straight to your inbox.

— kansascity, "KC’s final four: River Market, Crossroads, Waldo and Brookside," 16 Aug. 2017
While Glendale owns a 51-35-2 edge in the series, the Tornadoes won two straight after last season’s 49-12 rout.

— andrew j. campa, Glendale News-Press, "Glendale High football schedule undergoes pair of changes," 8 Aug. 2017
Roadkill-noshing crows, for example, will pause their meal and fly straight up or walk to a different lane as traffic approaches. 16.

— gemma tarlach, Discover Magazine, "20 Things You Didn't Know About ... Traffic," 7 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of straight

14th century

straight Synonyms

Synonyms

dead, direct, due, plumb, plump, right, directly, straightway

Antonyms

indirectly

Related Words

baldly, bluffly, candidly, frankly, honestly, openheartedly, openly, unguardedly, unreservedly; artlessly, earnestly, simply, sincerely; abruptly, bluntly, brusquely, curtly, gruffly, point-blank, sharply; impolitely, inconsiderately, rudely, tactlessly; truthfully, veraciously

Near Antonyms

circuitously, deviously, veeringly

straight

verb

Definition of straight

transitive verb

chiefly Scotland

:straighten

Recent Examples of straight from the Web

This all is being narrated while JON AND DANY STRAIGHT UP GET IT ON.

— elyse roth, Glamour, "'Game of Thrones' Season 7 Finale Recap: A Major Death, That Jon and Daenerys Thing Happened, and So Much More," 28 Aug. 2017
GATES MILLS, Ohio -- The setting is straight out a storybook: a Tudor-style manor on acres of beautiful, peaceful countryside not too far removed the bustle of town.

— joey morona, cleveland.com, "Classic Tudor in Gates Mills with two pools asks $3.9 million: House of the Week," 11 Aug. 2017
PETA in its letter asked Tinder to straight-up ban tiger selfies, which Tinder hasn't done, but the company did pledge to donate $10,000 to Project Cat.

— aric jenkins, Time, "Tinder Says Swipe Left on Guys With Tiger Selfies," 5 Aug. 2017
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Putin found opportunity in it to build some capital in his home politics, stoking Russian nationalist and anti-U.S. sentiment with moves straight out of the Cold War playbook.

— heather hulburt, Daily Intelligencer, "How Will Trump Handle Putin’s Disappointment?," 31 July 2017
Does this mean the White Walkers will be able to straight-up white walk themselves around the wall, a.k.a.

— vanityfair.com, "Game of Thrones: Answering 10 Burning Questions from “Stormborn”," 23 July 2017
Does this mean the White Walkers will be able to straight-up white walk themselves around the wall, a.k.a.

— joanna robinson, HWD, "Game of Thrones: Answering 10 Burning Questions from “Stormborn”," 23 July 2017
Judge is flirting with the triple crown with numbers straight out of a video game — a .330 batting average, .449 on-base percentage, a .697 slugging percentage, 13 doubles, three triples, 30 homers, 66 RBI and 59 runs scored.

— ryan divish, The Seattle Times, "Midseason awards: These are baseball’s MVP, Cy Young and ROY winners at the All-Star break," 8 July 2017
Straight out of the box, Anki’s adorable robot Cozmo plays games, fist bumps, and uses its big, blue digital eyes to convey convincing emotional range.

— wired staff, WIRED, "June’s Greatest Gear, From Apple’s New iPad to Coding Robots," 30 June 2017

First Known Use of straight

15th century

straight

noun

Definition of straight

1 :something that is straight: such as

a :a straight line or arrangement

b :straightaway; especially :homestretch

c :a true or honest report or course

2 a :a sequence (as of shots, strokes, or moves) resulting in a perfect score in a game or contest

b :first place at the finish of a horse race :win

3 :a poker hand containing five cards in sequence but not of the same suit — see poker illustration

4 :a person who adheres to conventional attitudes and mores

See straight defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of straight from the Web

Kim attempted to set the record straight by apologizing in a series of Snapchat messages and clarifying her stance.

— sarah wu, Teen Vogue, "Jeffree Star References Trump on Social Media Following Kim Kardashian Apology," 16 Aug. 2017
So, in response, McConnell has decided to bluff heavily behind a busted straight.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Hey Mitch, Was It Worth It?," 18 July 2017
The cars are allowed a max output of 200 kilowatts, which can take them to speeds of around 140 mph on an open straight.

— andrew moseman, Popular Mechanics, "Electric Car Racing Is Great—And Not Because It's Green," 17 July 2017
Setting the record straight can be worth the effort.

— sue shellenbarger, WSJ, "The Family Memory You Think You Have," 27 June 2017
The presidential swing states of Ohio and North Carolina were among others that had 2016 state House efficiency gaps favoring Republicans, the third straight such result since Republicans led the last round of redistricting in those states.

— Washington Post, "AP analysis shows how gerrymandering benefited GOP in 2016," 25 June 2017
Thrifty bar patrons may want to drink their whiskey straight:

— greg trotter, chicagotribune.com, "What shoppers need to know about the Cook County soda tax," 23 June 2017
West played the superhero straight for kids and funny for adults.

— sandy cohen, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Adam West, star of 'Batman' TV series, dies at 88," 10 June 2017
The Frogs (45-16) advanced to their seventh Super Regional and fourth straight.

— carlos mendez, star-telegram.com, "TCU swamps Dallas Baptist, steams to fourth consecutive Super Regionals berth," 5 June 2017

First Known Use of straight

1645

STRAIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

straight

play

adjective

Definition of straight for English Language Learners

: not having curves, bends, or angles
: vertical or level
: following one after the other in order : following each other without interruption

straight

adverb

Definition of straight for English Language Learners

: in a straight or direct way
: in or into a vertical position
: without any delay : directly or immediately

straight

noun

Definition of straight for English Language Learners

: a straight part of a racecourse
: a hand of playing cards in poker that contains five cards in sequence (such as a five, a six, a seven, an eight, and a nine)

STRAIGHT Defined for Kids

straight

play

adjective \ ˈstrāt \

Definition of straight for Students

straighter; straightest

1 :following the same direction throughout its length :not having curves, bends, or angles

a straight line

2 :being perfectly vertical or horizontal

Does the flagpole look straight?

3 :following one after the other in order

We worked for five straight hours.

4 :not changing from an indicated pattern

I got straight A's on my report card.

5 :not straying from what is right or honest

a straight answer

6 :correctly ordered or arranged

We set the kitchen straight.

7 :²correct 1

Let's get the facts straight.

8 :not showing any feeling especially of amusement

a straight face

—

straightness

noun

straight

adverb

Definition of straight for Students

1 :without delay or hesitation

I came straight home.

2 :in a direct and uninterrupted course :without turning or curving aside

The library is straight ahead.

Skye looked into the closet and straight through into another bedroom …
—Jeanne Birdsall, The Penderwicks

3 :in or into an upright position

stand straight

4 :without interruption

They have been working for three days straight.

5 :in a normal or correct way

I can't think straight.

Learn More about straight

See words that rhyme with straight Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for straight Spanish Central: Translation of straight Nglish: Translation of straight for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of straight for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about straight

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straight

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straight Synonyms

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straight

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straight

Definition of straight

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STRAIGHT Defined for English Language Learners

straight

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straight

Definition of straight for English Language Learners

straight

Definition of straight for English Language Learners

STRAIGHT Defined for Kids

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straightness

straight

Definition of straight for Students

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