straight arrow

straight arrow noun: someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity.

Noun

straight arrow (plural straight arrows)

(US, informal) Someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity.
- He was put down at first as a "straight arrow" — a do-gooder — and the description was sometimes accompanied by the cry, "ugh." as in old Westerns when the settler is shot by the wily redskin.1965 April 2, Paul O'Neil, “Bradley: good man and true”, in LIFE, volume 58, number 13, page 93
- But he might not be a straight arrow. I'm going to get the dirt on him from someone.1988, Diana McRae, All the Muscle You Need, page 36
Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see straight, arrow.
- The goal can not be attained by a straight arrow flight.1908, Charles Francis Horne, The Technique of the Novel, page 28
- "It's a straight arrow approach," he said.1970, United States. Congress. Economic Joint Committee, The Dismissal of A. Ernest Fitzgerald by the Department of Defense, page 197

My great-grandpa had a reputation as a straight arrow, because he was so honest in all his dealings.2011, Ruth Jean Dale, Kids, Critters and Cupid:
If there is any man in our family who was and is a straight arrow, it is Kearn.2012, Allen J. Roy, Lemme Tell You a Story: Memoirs of REV. Msgr. Allen J. Roy, page 32:
It will be reassuring to many who read this book to learn that success can be achieved by both a straight arrow path and a spiral path.1995, Gerhard Sonnert, Gerald James Holton, Who Succeeds in Science?: The Gender Dimension, page viii:
It's best to have both, a balanced bow and a straight arrow.2005, Larry Lichtenwalter, David--Dancing Like a King, page 140:

plural	straight arrows
alternative form	straight-arrow

From archery, in which an arrow that has a straight shaft flies where you shoot it, while a crooked arrow will veer off.

What does straight arrow mean?: Straight arrow means someone who behaves according to conventional standards; one noted for honesty and integrity.
How do you use straight arrow in a sentence?: My great-grandpa had a reputation as a straight arrow, because he was so honest in all his dealings.
What part of speech is straight arrow?: Straight arrow is a noun.
What is the plural of straight arrow?: The plural of straight arrow is straight arrows.

Adapted from Wiktionary: straight arrow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-straight arrow.ogg.

Cite this entry: “straight arrow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/straight_arrow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.