1
2
as in to trim
to make neat
a directive for everyone to straighten up their cubicle in preparation for a visit from some corporate VIPs
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for straighten (up or out)
Verb
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Parker now has several options to improve an area that hasn’t been a strength in Dallas for a while.—
Jon Machota,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026 -
In good economic times, that’s hundreds of millions of dollars each year for upgrading classrooms, boosting teacher pay, improving security, and enriching learning in our schools.—
Kevin Vick,
Denver Post,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Regularly trim ground cover plants around trees.—
Lee Wallender,
The Spruce,
30 Apr. 2026
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Revisions also have trimmed 69,000 jobs from December and January payrolls, a sign that the labor market remains under strain.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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This year's 5K is shaping up to outpace last year's.—
Jan Carabeo,
CBS News,
30 Apr. 2026
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River levels are rising in Boise April is shaping up to be the wettest in Boise history, according to previous Idaho Statesman reporting.—
Hali Smith,
Idaho Statesman,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Michael Quinn, a New York attorney who advises estates said that the commercial art world has become so professionalized that many postwar artists are unprepared to organize their studios, archives, and intellectual property before death.—
Angelica Villa,
ARTnews.com,
1 May 2026
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Every chat with Claude or GPT runs on the same underlying machinery that calculates spreadsheet totals and renders video games—silicon wafers etched with billions of microscopic switches, organized into specialized processors.—
Deni Ellis Béchard,
Scientific American,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Decades ago, Congress amended the Voting Rights Act to say that Section 2 should focus on any discriminatory effects of a redistricting plan.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2026
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The new judge in the murder trial of Aaron Spencer, the Republican nominee for Lonoke County sheriff, sided broadly with the defense Thursday in their attempts to reverse or amend rulings by the last judge, who was pulled from the case.—
Grant Lancaster,
Arkansas Online,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Beginning in elementary school, students are socialized to behave this way — in the classroom, in the school yard or on a playing field.—
Stephen Wade,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Apr. 2026
-
In other words, the cell behaves like a nanocomputer and a genome behaves like software.—
Eliza Strickland,
IEEE Spectrum,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Despite the setbacks, Rivera and Nuhfer continued to communicate with Sessions and arranged for the congressman to travel to Caracas to meet with Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, at a military compound near the presidential palace on April 2, 2018.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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Ride-share services are readily available, golf carts can be arranged in select areas and most stations are located in or just steps from vibrant downtown districts.—
Karon Warren,
AJC.com,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Rare is the Broadway season that hasn’t been bettered by an August Wilson revival, and this very busy spring is no exception.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
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Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the London Marathon in 1 hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds, bettering the previous men’s world record by an astonishing 65 seconds.—
ap,
Bloomberg,
26 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Straighten (up or out).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/straighten%20%28up%20or%20out%29. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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