to straighten up
8
2.7
- phrasal verb
- /ˈstreɪtən ʌp/
:
ordenar
- The free Bye Bye Declutter app helps you straighten up by providing a checklist of things to get rid of.
- straighten up the room
- straighten up the kitchen
- straighten up the house
The free Bye Bye Declutter app helps you straighten up by providing a checklist of things to get rid of.
- The free Bye Bye Declutter app helps you straighten up by providing a checklist of things to get rid of.
- You might be thinking of yourself, pastor, Is getting your house in order a sign that I need to start straightening up?
Examples
-
But I was just going to straighten up her little bath toys.
-
And maybe I could straighten up this place for you.
-
I got to straighten up my room.
-
Yes, I was just straightening up your desk for you.
-
I've been all over the house, straightening up.
-
I go inside and find my mother straightening up the closets.
Fiction book (1998) -
I had not straightened up in here in weeks, and the sight of it was shameful.
Fiction book (1990) -
Judy had called a glazier, and while we straightened up her bedroom, he replaced the broken panes.
Fiction book (1992) -
Larkin let the others go ashore, then lingered to clean and straighten up things that didn't need straightening.
Fiction book (1994) -
I need to straighten up my room before the guests arrive.
Synonyms
433
1.0
To make a room or area free of dirt and tidy by removing mess
162
1.7
To put things or information in a clear, neat order
161
1.6
Make a place or things tidy and in order
100
3.1
To arrange items so they are ready and easy to see
48
2.6
Tidy a bed or room so it looks neat
42
1.0
To make a place neat by putting things away
32
1.5
Make a room or desk neat by putting things in their right place
26
4.1
To make a place or person look neat and smart
21
1.0
To make a house clean and tidy by removing dirt and putting things in order
13
3.8
To make yourself or a place look cleaner and nicer
12
3.2
To make a place tidy and organized
5
4.1
To remove things you do not need from a room or desk to make it tidy
5
3.0
To put things in the order you want
1
5.8
To clean and tidy a room to make it ready to use
1
3.7
To make something tidy by arranging things in order
1
7.2
Make a person or place look neater and nicer by cleaning and adding small things
1
4.1
To remove things you do not need to make a place tidy and easier to use
1
4.8
Make yourself or a place look neater and more stylish
To tidy a messy place and put things in order
Antonyms
How Tidy
Surface Forms
Morphology
straighten + up
The verb 'straighten' (make straight or correct) combined with the particle 'up' yields a completive/intensive sense (finish straightening), which plausibly extends to putting items in order or tidying a room. Because the cleaning/tidying meaning is an extended, somewhat metaphorical use of 'make straight' rather than a strictly literal combination, a B1 learner can partly infer it but may not predict the exact sense without some exposure.
Etymology
Straighten up comes from putting things into a straight, tidy order, like pushing books until they stand straight on a shelf or smoothing a messy table and putting items up in their places. So the phrase now means 'to make a place neat and organized'.