# straight

Pronunciation: US/AUS say "STRAYT" /stɹeɪt/; UK

## Adjective

1. Extending or moving in one direction without curving, bending, or turning aside along its whole length.
   - Simple: Not bent or curved, or going in one direction without turning.
   - _The carpenter checked that each board was perfectly straight before nailing it down._
   - _Her hair was naturally straight, never curling even in humid weather._
3. Following one after another without a break; consecutive, as when a player wins every set of a match ('in straight sets').
   - Simple: Happening one after another with no break, such as wins, games, or sets in a row.
   - _The champion recorded her tenth straight victory on Sunday._
   - _The factory ran for twenty straight hours during the crisis._
5. Heterosexual: sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex, or (of a relationship) between people of opposite sexes. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Attracted to people of the opposite sex. Also used of relationships between a man and a woman.
   - _He identifies as straight, though he says labels matter less to him now._
   - _Her roommate assumed she was straight until she mentioned her girlfriend._
6. Exactly level or exactly upright, rather than slanting or at an angle.
   - Simple: Perfectly level or upright, not slanted.
   - _She stepped back to check that the bookcase was perfectly straight._
   - _The surveyor confirmed that the fence post was straight and not leaning._
7. Direct and frank in communication; not evasive or roundabout.
   - Simple: Saying what you mean clearly, without hiding anything.
   - _I prefer a manager who is straight about bad news rather than vague._
   - _She gave a straight account of what happened that night._
14. Free from dishonesty; honest and law-abiding.
   - Simple: Honest and obeying the law.
   - _Investors trusted her because she had a reputation as a straight dealer._
   - _The new sheriff was determined to keep the whole department straight._
15. Of an alcoholic spirit, served undiluted and unmixed; neat.
   - Simple: Used about strong alcohol served with no water, ice or anything else added.
   - _Connoisseurs often insist that a fine single malt be drunk straight._
   - _He ordered the rye straight, waving away the bartender's offer of ice._
10. Serious in tone or manner rather than comedic.
   - Simple: Acting in a serious way, not trying to be funny.
   - _The actor wanted a straight role after years of slapstick comedy._
   - _She delivered her lines straight while the rest of the cast hammed it up._
11. Thorough and absolute; utter and unqualified. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Total and complete, with nothing held back.
   - _The whole scheme was straight fraud, and everyone in the room knew it._
   - _Critics dismissed the sequel as straight garbage._
12. In proper order; arranged as it should be.
   - Simple: Set in the right order, the way it should be.
   - _He wouldn't leave the office until the books were straight._
   - _Let me get the facts straight before I answer your question._
16. In a good state or situation; fine and all right. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: In a good state and doing just fine.
   - _Thanks for asking, but I'm straight. Everything's handled._
   - _The team is straight on funding for the rest of the year._
17. On good terms with another person, with no unresolved conflict between them. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: On good terms with someone again, with no bad feelings left.
   - _After he apologized, the two brothers were straight again._
   - _I returned what I owed, so the neighbors and I are straight now._
20. Conventional and mainstream; socially acceptable. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Following normal, ordinary ways, not unusual.
   - _After years on the road, the band settled into a straight, mainstream sound._
   - _She found the quiet suburb far too straight for her taste._
21. Not using alcohol, drugs, or similar substances. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Not using alcohol or drugs.
   - _After rehab he worked hard to stay straight._
   - _Being straight at loud parties took some getting used to._
22. Of an engine, with every cylinder arranged in one straight row; in-line.
   - Simple: Having all the engine's cylinders set in one straight line.
   - _Mechanics praised the smoothness of the car's straight engine layout._
   - _The sedan's straight six delivered steady power without much vibration._
24. Supporting a political party's candidates and organization completely, making no exceptions or deviations. *(US)*
   - Simple: Supporting every candidate from one political party, with no exceptions.
   - _He cast a straight ticket for the first time after years of splitting his vote._
   - _Many older voters still pull a straight party ballot out of loyalty._
25. Not plus-size; falling within the smaller, thinner range of clothing sizes.
   - Simple: Not plus-size, made for smaller, thinner body sizes.
   - _She modeled straight sizes before the agency signed plus-size talent._
   - _The boutique carried straight sizes alongside a new extended line._

## Adverb

2. Directly, without pause, delay, or going out of the way.
   - Simple: Without stopping or taking a longer way, right away or by the shortest path.
   - _After landing, we drove straight to the hotel without detouring._
   - _She finished one task and moved straight on to the next without a break._
4. In a precise direction relative to oneself, as if following a direct line.
   - Simple: In an exact direction toward something, right at it.
   - _She stared straight into the camera without blinking._
   - _The trail led straight toward the mountains on the horizon._
13. Of speech or information, directly and plainly, without holding back or evading.
   - Simple: Saying something clearly and openly, without hiding things.
   - _I'll give it to you straight: the project is failing._
   - _She answered straight, refusing to soften the bad news._
8. Without any interruption or pause; continuously.
   - Simple: Without stopping or taking a break.
   - _The team rehearsed for six hours straight before opening night._
   - _It rained for a week straight, flooding the lower fields._

## Noun

9. A section of a road, racetrack, or course that runs in a line without curving.
   - Simple: A part of a road or track that runs in a line with no bends.
   - _The leader pulled away down the home straight to take the checkered flag._
   - _Engineers widened the long straight so trucks could pass more safely._
18. A person whose romantic and sexual attraction is directed toward people of the opposite sex. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A person who is romantically and sexually attracted to people of the opposite sex.
   - _The club was mostly gay, but plenty of straights came for the music._
   - _The club welcomes everyone, and no straight who walks in should feel out of place._
19. In poker, a hand of five cards in consecutive numerical sequence, regardless of suit.
   - Simple: In card games, five cards whose numbers come one after another.
   - _She turned over a straight to take the pot._
   - _His straight lost to a flush on the final card._
23. A conventional person who belongs to mainstream society rather than a subculture. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A regular person who fits into mainstream society and doesn't break from the norm.
   - _To the commune, any visitor in a suit was a straight, eyed with suspicion._
   - _The bohemians liked to divide the world into artists and straights._

## Other meanings

- (verb) To make something straight; to straighten it.
- (noun) A cigarette containing tobacco rather than marijuana.
- (adjective) In cricket, of a bat held upright without leaning either way, or of play along or near the line between the two sets of stumps.
- (adjective) Of a ballot or ticket, listing every regular nominee of one party and nobody else.
- (adjective) Of sex, of the conventional kind, without unusual practices.
- (adjective) Confined in width, with little room.
- (adjective) Lying or reaching out to its whole length, with no bend.
- (adjective) Of a telegram, charged at the full rate and sent for delivery without delay.
- (adjective) In differential geometry, describing a curve whose tangent vectors stay tangent to it when carried along by parallel transport, so that it is a geodesic.
- (noun) A member of the school of chiropractic that limits its practice to spinal manipulation and rejects added therapies.
- (noun) A cat with upright ears from a breed in which folded ears are common, such as the Scottish Fold.

## Origin

The word began as streight, the Middle English past participle of strecchen ("to stretch"). That verb came from Old English streċċan, which goes back to Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan ("to stretch"). In effect it is "stretch" with a past-participle ending.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/straight (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).