straightaway C2+ Topic:Transportation Also spelled straight-away US /ˌstreɪtəˈweɪ/ UK /ˌstreɪtəˈweɪ/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 adv immediately, at once; or a straight stretch of road or track She set off straightaway, without pausing for breakfast. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adv · immediately, at once; or a... immediatelyinstantlydirectlyforthwithpromptlyright awayat once ↔ Opposites eventuallylatergradually Word family Related forms straightaway Etymology AI details A compound of 'straight' (Middle English 'streght', past participle of 'strecchen', to stretch) and 'away', meaning 'in a straight, direct manner', hence 'at once'. strecchen Middle English View etymology graph -> Topics Transportation Word Formation & Derivatives External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # straightaway **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** adv **IPA (US):** /ˌstreɪtəˈweɪ/ **IPA (UK):** /ˌstreɪtəˈweɪ/ ## Meanings 1. immediately, at once; or a straight stretch of road or track ## Examples - She set off straightaway, without pausing for breakfast. ## Synonyms - immediately - instantly - directly - forthwith - promptly - right away - at once ## Antonyms - eventually - later - gradually ## Related Forms - straight - away ## Roots and Affixes - Root: strecchen ## Etymology A compound of 'straight' (Middle English 'streght', past participle of 'strecchen', to stretch) and 'away', meaning 'in a straight, direct manner', hence 'at once'. ## AI Etymology Straightaway is a compound of 'straight' (Middle English 'streght', past participle of 'strecchen', to stretch) and 'away', meaning 'in a straight, direct manner', hence 'at once'. Important recorded forms include strecchen (Middle English). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers immediately, at once; or a straight stretch of road or track. The wider family includes related words such as straight and away. ## Topics - Transportation - Word Formation & Derivatives markdown