straighten
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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“You have New Orleans, which has a crime problem. We’ll straighten that out in two weeks, easier than D.C.,”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 2025
It took a meeting with the inflation-slaying giant of a former Fed chair, Paul Volcker, to straighten him out.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2025
Her forfeit was to straighten her mop of curly hair for the team's evening meal.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2025
Should these innings be used to straighten out previously-successful relievers such as Treinen and Scott?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025
At once, I straighten, hoping I look mature, like the kind of girl who can be trusted.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
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A microlens array first aligns and straightens the light from each laser.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 2, 2026
“We are going to take those sanctions off until this straightens out,” Trump said Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
The Mercator map is arguably the best for this purpose, because it straightens out spiraling rhumb lines, and that’s why it rose to dominance.
From Slate ● Jan. 21, 2026
Whatever you wear, I hope you share M&M’s and popcorn with someone who straightens your crown.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2024
When this shaggy-haired man sees that we have food, he straightens up and sniffs hard as if it’s for him.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
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A section of the River Kemp, in south Shropshire, had been straightened by landowners in the 1800s, disconnecting it from its natural floodplain and reducing biodiversity.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When she straightened up, her face was flush with a wide-eyed glow: “Oh my God!”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
A very kind woman working behind the desk straightened me out: I was being too literal.
From Slate ● Dec. 29, 2025
“The tears that I have shed over this, the frustration, the hours on the phone, trying to get it straightened out,” said Reisen, who lives in the Philadelphia area.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
Then she did the same with five other cards before she straightened up and sighed.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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His grand goal was to reduce flooding, ease navigation and expand commercial shipping capacity by straightening the river’s course and shortening the distance between Basel and Bonn by 50 miles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
For centuries, the UK has modified landscapes to move water off the land as quickly as possible by draining uplands and peatlands, straightening rivers and disconnecting rivers from floodplains.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
"Great effort went into straightening rivers to harness them for our use, but also into enabling agriculture by draining the wetlands."
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
West of Hoover Street, the grid reorients itself, straightening into an American-style street grid.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Movement everywhere: a myriad arms, rising and falling, hands flailing, backs bending and straightening in a relentless rhythm.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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Vocabulary lists containing straighten
List 10
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"The Giving Tree"
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Spelling Practice 3, Unit 4
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