straighten up

straighten up
straighten up
1. to sit or stand more straight. •

Billy's mother told him to straighten up or he'd fall out of his chair.

John straightened up so he'd look taller.

2. to behave better. •

Bill was acting badly for a while; then he straightened up.

Sally, straighten up, or I will punish you!

* * *
{v.} To put in order; make neat. * /Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming./ * /Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came./ Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY.

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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  • straighten up — {v.} To put in order; make neat. * /Vic had to straighten up his room before he could go swimming./ * /Mrs. Johnson straightened up the house before company came./ Compare: PICK UP(6b), SQUARE AWAY …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Straighten — Straight en, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Straighted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Straighting}.] 1. To make straight; to reduce from a crooked to a straight form. [1913 Webster] 2. To make right or correct; to reduce to order; as, to straighten one s affairs; to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • straighten — [strāt′ n] vt., vi. to make or become straight straighten out 1. to make or become less confused, easier to deal with, etc. ☆ 2. to make or become more correct or moral in behavior; reform straighten up to put in good order; make tidy [straighten …   English World dictionary

  • straighten up — (something) to make things neat. Be sure to straighten up your room before you leave. It was only four thirty, and she still had time to straighten things up before the guests arrived …   New idioms dictionary

  • Straighten — Straight en, v. t. A variant of {Straiten}. [Obs. or R.] [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • straighten — index fix (repair), organize (arrange), rectify Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • straighten — (v.) 1540s, from STRAIGHT (Cf. straight) + EN (Cf. en) (1). Related: Straightened; straightening …   Etymology dictionary

  • straighten — [v] put in neat or aligned order align, arrange, compose, correct, even, level, make plumb, make straight, neaten, order, put in order, put perpendicular, put straight, put to rights, put upright, put vertical, rectify, set to rights, smarten up* …   New thesaurus

  • straighten — ► VERB 1) make or become straight. 2) stand or sit erect after bending …   English terms dictionary

  • straighten — straight|en [ˈstreıtn] v 1.) [I and T] also straighten out to become straight, or to make something straight ▪ Can you straighten your leg? 2.) [i]also straighten up to make your back straight, or to stand up straight after bending down 3.) [T] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

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