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# straighten

«straighten» in Mova's school dictionary: **To make something straight, or to become straight** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

verb (straighten, straightens, straightened, straightening)

### meaning for a pupil

1) To make something straight, or to become straight. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#m1)

2) (straighten up) To stand up straight, or to make a place tidy. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#m2)

3) (straighten out) To fix a problem or misunderstanding. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In everyday life, you straighten your tie, a picture on the wall or your back; «straighten up your room» means tidy it. In feelings lessons, «straighten things out» means talk to fix a quarrel. In health, braces straighten teeth. Phrases: «straighten up», «straighten out», «straighten your back».

### examples

- Straighten your back when you sit at your desk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x1)
- Please straighten the books on the shelf. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x2)
- Braces will straighten your teeth. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x3)
- The picture is crooked — can you straighten it? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x4)
- Let's straighten out this misunderstanding. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x5)
- He straightened up and smiled. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x6)
- Straighten the wire before you use it. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x7)
- Mum told us to straighten up the playroom. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/#x8)

### note

The gh is silent: said «STRAY-tun». Adjective: «straight» (homophone «strait», a narrow sea passage). Opposite: bend.

### In the corpora

- [Muscles can only pull, never push, so they work in pairs: the biceps bends the elbow and the triceps straightens it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/360-muscles-and-joints-by-name-biceps-triceps-knees-elbows-and-the-busiest-muscles/7/)
- [In cricket the bowler must bowl, not throw: the elbow must not bend and straighten as the ball is let go.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/304-outdoor-games-and-sports-rules/13/)
- [A jammed finger should not be pulled hard; one that looks bent or will not straighten needs an X-ray.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/3-sprains-strains-and-bruises/14/)
- [In cricket the bowler's arm mustn't straighten while bowling, so bowling is not throwing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/45-cricket-and-rugby-baseball-and-american-football/8/)
- [The biceps bends the arm and the triceps straightens it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/31-skeleton-and-muscles/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «straighten» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/straighten/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.