straight

English Online Dictionary. What means straight‎? What does straight mean?

English

Alternative forms

• streight (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English streight, streght, streiȝt, the past participle of strecchen (“to stretch”), from Old English streċċan (past participle ġestreaht, ġestreht), from Proto-West Germanic *strakkjan (“to stretch”). Doublet of straught. Equivalent to stretch +‎ -ed.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /stɹeɪt/
• Rhymes: -eɪt
• Homophone: strait

Adjective

straight (comparative straighter, superlative straightest)

1. Not crooked, curly, or bent; having a constant direction throughout its length. [from 14th c.]
2. (of a path, trajectory, etc.) Direct, undeviating. [from 15th c.]
3. Perfectly horizontal or vertical; not diagonal or oblique. [from 17th c.]
   • 1925, United States House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee No. 1, Charges Against William E. Baker, U.S. District Judge:

     Mr. Coniff: He did not have his hat on straight; that is the one thing, is it?
4. (cricket) Describing the bat as held so as not to incline to either side; on, or near a line running between the two wickets. [from 19th c.]
5. (engineering, of an internal-combustion engine) Having all cylinders in a single straight line; in-line.
6. Direct in communication; unevasive, straightforward. [from 19th c.]
7. Free from dishonesty; honest, law-abiding. [from 16th c.]
8. Serious rather than comedic.
9. In proper order; as it should be. [from 19th c.]
10. In a row, in unbroken sequence; consecutive. [from 19th c.]
11. (tennis) Describing the sets in a match of which the winner did not lose a single set. [from 19th c.]
    • 2011 February 10, Press Association:

      Murray started well against Marcos Baghdatis before slumping to defeat in straight sets and the British No1 admitted he may not have been mentally prepared for the rigours of the ATP Tour after a gruelling start to 2011.

12. (US, politics) Making no exceptions or deviations in one's support of the organization and candidates of a political party.

13. (US, politics) Containing the names of all the regularly nominated candidates of a single party and no others.

15. (colloquial) Conventional; mainstream; socially acceptable. [from 20th c.]
17. (colloquial) Heterosexual.

    Synonym: hetero
18. (colloquial, of a romantic or sexual relation) Occurring between people of opposite sex (sometimes, but not always, specifically between heterosexual people).
    • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:straight.
19. (slang, sex work) Related to conventional sexual intercourse.

    Coordinate term: French
20. (colloquial) Not using alcohol, drugs, etc. [from 20th c.]

    Synonym: straightedge
21. (fashion) Not plus size; thin.

22. (rare, now chiefly religion) Strait; narrow.
23. (obsolete) Stretched out; fully extended. [15th–16th c.]
24. (slang) Thorough; utter; unqualified.
25. Of spirits: undiluted, unmixed; neat. [from 19th c.]
26. (telegraphy, historical, of a telegram) Sent at a full rate for immediate delivery; being a fast telegram.
27. (sciences, mathematics) Concerning the property allowing the parallel transport of vectors along a course that keeps tangent vectors remain as such throughout that course (a course which is straight, a straight curve, is a geodesic).
28. (informal, of a person) OK, all right, fine; in a good state or situation.

29. (informal, of people, reciprocal) On good terms.

Antonyms

• bent
• crooked
• curved

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: ストレート

Translations

Adverb

straight (comparative more straight, superlative most straight)

1. Of a direction relative to the subject, precisely; as if following a direct line.

3. Directly; without pause, delay or detour.
4. Continuously; without interruption or pause.

5. Of speech or information, without prevarication or holding back; directly; straightforwardly; plainly.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

straight (plural straights)

1. Something that is not crooked or bent such as a part of a road or track.
2. (poker) Five cards in sequence.
3. (colloquial) A heterosexual.

   Synonyms: hetero, breeder

4. (slang) A normal person; someone in mainstream society.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:mainstreamer
5. (slang) A cigarette, particularly one containing tobacco instead of marijuana. [from 20th c.]

   Synonym: straighter

   • [1923, J[oseph] Manchon, Le slang : lexique de l'anglais familier et vulgaire : précédé d'une étude sur la pronunciation et la grammaire populaires, p. 296:

     A straight = a straighter = a straight cut, une cigarette en tabac de Virginie.]

6. A chiropractor who relies solely on spinal adjustment, with no other treatments.

   Antonym: mixer

7. A cat that has straight ears despite belonging to a breed that often has folded ears.
   • 2021, B. J. Deming, 25 More Facts About House Cats

     A hopeful sign of compromise is the growing popularity of Scottish Fold "straights" (cats like Maru, without droopy ears).

Derived terms

Descendants

• → Japanese: ストレート (sutorēto)
• → Portuguese: straight

Translations

Verb

straight (third-person singular simple present straights, present participle straighting, simple past and past participle straighted)

1. (transitive) To straighten.

See also

References

• “straight”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Danish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English straight.

Noun

straight c (singular definite straighten, plural indefinite straight)

1. (poker) straight

Declension

See also

Adjective

straight (plural and definite singular attributive straighte)

1. honest, reliable
2. driven, determined
3. (rare) heterosexual
4. (rare) clean, drugfree

   Synonyms: clean, ædru

5. unbiased, clean, pure

   Synonym: ren

Declension

References

• “straight” in Den Danske Ordbog

German

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English straight.

Pronunciation

Adjective

straight (strong nominative masculine singular straighter, not comparable) (informal)

1. Of a work of art: played straight, not daring to break conventions.
2. straight, heterosexual
3. straight, directly

   Synonyms: direkt, sofort

Further reading

• “straight” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “straight” in Duden online

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English straight.

Noun

straight m (plural straights)

1. (poker) straight (five cards in sequence)