straighten up

verb — 7 senses

straighten up

verb
7 senses
  1. 1To become straight, or straighter.
  2. 2To steer straight.
  3. 3To sit up straight, to stop hunching.
  4. 4To deal with; to put in order.
  5. 5To tidy; to tidy up.
  6. 6To clarify.
  7. 7To start living a reformed life; to adopt a more honest…
1

To become straight, or straighter.

  • 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...
2

Ambitransitive To steer straight.

  • 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."
3

To sit up straight, to stop hunching.

  • Horse skin smells good. Lay your cheek against his neck and have a good cuddle. Now straighten up slowly again, and sit loosely.2005, Heike Lebherz, Riding For Pleasure:
4

To deal with; to put in order.

  • 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
5

To tidy; to tidy up.

  • The lockers were all standing wide open with equipment and uniforms scattered all over the room, he had left a note under the bottle telling me to straighten up the room, then straighten myself up before coming to work the next day.2005, Richard R. Simmons, A Long Hard Ride:
6

To clarify.

7

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

Derived terms
straighten up and fly right

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.