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say it: STRAY-tuh-way
straightaway is a noun, adjective and adverb meaning "a straight segment of a roadway or racecourse". It carries 3 recorded senses.
performed with little or no delay
“an immediate reply to my letter”
“a prompt reply”
“was quick to respond”
“a straightaway denial”
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
“he answered immediately”
“found an answer straightaway”
“an official accused of dishonesty should be suspended forthwith”
“Come here now!”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for straightaway come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.