straight
♦♦ straight /str'eɪt/ (straighter straightest straights)
1 [ADJ]
A straight line or edge continues in the same direction and does not bend or curve.
Keep the boat in a straight line...
Using the straight edge as a guide, trim the cloth to size...
There wasn't a single straight wall in the building.
[ADV] ADV after v
Straight is also an adverb.
Stand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot...
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Straight hair has no curls or waves in it.
Grace had long straight dark hair which she wore in a bun.
3 [ADV] ADV prep/adv
You use straight to indicate that the way from one place to another is very direct, with no changes of direction.
The ball fell straight to the feet of Klinsmann...
He finished his conversation and stood up, looking straight at me...
Straight ahead were the low cabins of the motel.
4 [ADV] ADV prep/adv
If you go straight to a place, you go there immediately.
As always, we went straight to the experts for advice...
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
If you give someone a straight answer, you answer them clearly and honestly.
What a shifty arguer he is, refusing ever to give a straight answer.
[ADV] ADV after v
Straight is also an adverb.
I lost my temper and told him straight that I hadn't been looking for any job.
6 [ADJ] ADJ n
Straight means following one after the other, with no gaps or intervals.
They'd won 12 straight games before they lost.
[ADV] n ADV
Straight is also an adverb.
He called from Weddington, having been there for 31 hours straight.
7 [ADJ] ADJ n
A straight choice or a straight fight involves only two people or things.
It's a straight choice between low-paid jobs and no jobs...
8 [ADJ]
If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are normal and conventional, for example in their opinions and in the way they live.
Dorothy was described as a very straight woman, a very strict Christian who was married to her job.
9 [ADJ] usu v-link ADJ
If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are heterosexual rather than homosexual. (INFORMAL)
His sexual orientation was a lot more gay than straight...
≠ gay
[N-COUNT]
Straight is also a noun.
...a standard of sexual conduct that applies equally to gays and straights.
10 [ADJ] ADJ n, v n ADJ
A straight drink, especially an alcoholic drink, has not had another liquid such as water added to it.
...a large straight whiskey without ice...
= neat
11 [N-COUNT]
On a racetrack, a straight is a section of the track that is straight, rather than curved.
I went to overtake him on the back straight on the last lap.
see also home straight
12 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you get something straight, you make sure that you understand it properly or that someone else does. (SPOKEN)
Let's get things straight. I didn't lunch with her.
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If a criminal is going straight, they are no longer involved in crime.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If something keeps people on the straight and narrow, it helps to keep them living an honest or healthy life.
All her efforts to keep him on the straight and narrow have been rewarded.
15
a straight face: see face
to set the record straight: see recordhome stretch
in BRIT, also use home straight
1 [N-SING] the N
The home stretch or the home straight is the last part of a race.
Holmes matched Boulmerka stride for stride down the home straight to finish second.
2 [N-SING] the N
You can refer to the last part of any activity that lasts for a long time as the home stretch or the home straight, especially if the activity is difficult or boring.
...as his two hours of banter, quips and anecdotes goes into the home straight.straight ar|row (straight arrows)
[N-COUNT] oft N n
A straight arrow is someone who is very traditional, honest, and moral. (mainly AM)
...a well-scrubbed, straight-arrow group of young people.straight away
also straightaway
[ADV] ADV with v
If you do something straight away, you do it immediately and without delay.
I should go and see a doctor straight away...
= immediately
1 [ADJ]
A straight line or edge continues in the same direction and does not bend or curve.
Keep the boat in a straight line...
Using the straight edge as a guide, trim the cloth to size...
There wasn't a single straight wall in the building.
[ADV] ADV after v
Straight is also an adverb.
Stand straight and stretch the left hand to the right foot...
2 [ADJ] usu ADJ n
Straight hair has no curls or waves in it.
Grace had long straight dark hair which she wore in a bun.
3 [ADV] ADV prep/adv
You use straight to indicate that the way from one place to another is very direct, with no changes of direction.
The ball fell straight to the feet of Klinsmann...
He finished his conversation and stood up, looking straight at me...
Straight ahead were the low cabins of the motel.
4 [ADV] ADV prep/adv
If you go straight to a place, you go there immediately.
As always, we went straight to the experts for advice...
5 [ADJ] ADJ n
If you give someone a straight answer, you answer them clearly and honestly.
What a shifty arguer he is, refusing ever to give a straight answer.
[ADV] ADV after v
Straight is also an adverb.
I lost my temper and told him straight that I hadn't been looking for any job.
6 [ADJ] ADJ n
Straight means following one after the other, with no gaps or intervals.
They'd won 12 straight games before they lost.
[ADV] n ADV
Straight is also an adverb.
He called from Weddington, having been there for 31 hours straight.
7 [ADJ] ADJ n
A straight choice or a straight fight involves only two people or things.
It's a straight choice between low-paid jobs and no jobs...
8 [ADJ]
If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are normal and conventional, for example in their opinions and in the way they live.
Dorothy was described as a very straight woman, a very strict Christian who was married to her job.
9 [ADJ] usu v-link ADJ
If you describe someone as straight, you mean that they are heterosexual rather than homosexual. (INFORMAL)
His sexual orientation was a lot more gay than straight...
≠ gay
[N-COUNT]
Straight is also a noun.
...a standard of sexual conduct that applies equally to gays and straights.
10 [ADJ] ADJ n, v n ADJ
A straight drink, especially an alcoholic drink, has not had another liquid such as water added to it.
...a large straight whiskey without ice...
= neat
11 [N-COUNT]
On a racetrack, a straight is a section of the track that is straight, rather than curved.
I went to overtake him on the back straight on the last lap.
see also home straight
12 [PHRASE] V inflects
If you get something straight, you make sure that you understand it properly or that someone else does. (SPOKEN)
Let's get things straight. I didn't lunch with her.
13 [PHRASE] V inflects
If a criminal is going straight, they are no longer involved in crime.
14 [PHRASE] PHR after v
If something keeps people on the straight and narrow, it helps to keep them living an honest or healthy life.
All her efforts to keep him on the straight and narrow have been rewarded.
15
a straight face: see face
to set the record straight: see recordhome stretch
in BRIT, also use home straight
1 [N-SING] the N
The home stretch or the home straight is the last part of a race.
Holmes matched Boulmerka stride for stride down the home straight to finish second.
2 [N-SING] the N
You can refer to the last part of any activity that lasts for a long time as the home stretch or the home straight, especially if the activity is difficult or boring.
...as his two hours of banter, quips and anecdotes goes into the home straight.straight ar|row (straight arrows)
[N-COUNT] oft N n
A straight arrow is someone who is very traditional, honest, and moral. (mainly AM)
...a well-scrubbed, straight-arrow group of young people.straight away
also straightaway
[ADV] ADV with v
If you do something straight away, you do it immediately and without delay.
I should go and see a doctor straight away...
= immediately