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Added 8 October 2026

straight

/stɹeɪt/ noun

In Latin: rectus Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about straight at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A person having a sexual orientation to persons of the opposite sex.
A poker hand with 5 consecutive cards (regardless of suit).
A straight segment of a roadway or racecourse.

adjective

Successive (without a break).
sick for five straight days
Having no deviations.
straight lines
(of hair) having no waves or curls.
her naturally straight hair hung long and silky

adverb

Without deviation.
the path leads directly to the lake
In a forthright manner; candidly or frankly.
he didn't answer directly
In a straight line; in a direct course.
the road runs straight

Origin

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”), which is from Latin strictus via Old French estreit.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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