straighten out

phrasal verb

straightened out; straightening out; straightens out

1

: to make (something) straight or to become straight

You need to straighten out your legs for this stretch.

The river curves and then straightens out again.

2

: to make (something) organized or tidy : to put (something) in order

He took time to straighten out the papers on his desk.

3

: to deal with (something) successfully

I need more time to straighten out my problems.

4

: to improve in behavior or condition or to cause (someone or something) to improve in behavior or condition

He straightened out after joining the army.

The problem will not straighten out on its own.

You need to straighten your life out.

Her parents sent her to boarding school to straighten her out.

Examples of straighten out in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Clippers forward Kris Dunn knows all too well how an intended path can switch up quickly or take 10 years to straighten out. —Janis Carr, Orange County Register, 2 Dec. 2024

On President's Day, a holiday at his day job, Michael Conner helped his wife tidy the booths and straighten out the paintings, chatting to repeat customers and looky-loos. —Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 21 Feb. 2024

Sometime between 1935 and 1944, the road was diverted a stone’s throw to the northeast, straightening out sharp curves and making room for two full lanes of traffic in and out of downtown Jamestown. —Elizabeth Friend, Longreads, 29 Oct. 2024

Samsung started straightening out the Galaxy S series with the S22, and Google’s latest Pixel 9 phones all feature flat edges. —Allison Johnson, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2024