straight

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   Going in one direction without bending or curving.

   Draw a straight line between the two points.

2. 2
   adj

   Of hair: having no waves or curls.

   She has long, straight hair.

3. 3
   adj

   Following one after another without a break.

   I've been sick for five straight days.

4. 4
   adj

   Honest and fair.

   I just want a straight answer from you.

Common collocations

• straight line Adjective + noun
• straight face Adjective + noun
• straight talk Adjective + noun

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”). Cognate with Scots straicht (“straight”), Dutch gestrekt (“stretched”), German gestreckt (“stretched”), Danish strakt (“stretched”), Faroese and Norn strekti (“stretched”), Icelandic strekkti (“stretched”), Norwegian strekte (“stretched”), Swedish sträckte (“stretched”). Doublet of straught. Equivalent to stretch + -ed. In some senses, conflated with strait (“narrow, constricted”), w…

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