verb (used with object)
- to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.: He directed the company through a difficult time.
- to regulate the course of; control: History is directed by a small number of great men and women.
- to administer; manage; supervise: She directs the affairs of the estate.
- to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain: I directed him to leave the room.
- to serve as a director in the production or performance of (a musical work, play, motion picture, etc.).
- to guide, tell, or show (a person) the way to a place: I directed him to the post office.
- to point, aim, or send toward a place or object: to direct radio waves around the globe.
- to channel or focus toward a given result, object, or end (often followed by to or toward): She directed all her energies toward the accomplishment of the work.
- to address (words, a speech, a written report, etc.) to a person or persons: The secretary directed his remarks to two of the committee members.
- to address (a letter, package, etc.) to an intended recipient.
verb (used without object)
- to act as a guide.
- to give commands or orders.
- to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.
adjective
- proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.
- proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.
- Mathematics.
- (of a proportion) containing terms of which an increase (or decrease) in one results in an increase (or decrease) in another: a term is said to be in direct proportion to another term if one increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases).
- (of a function) the function itself, in contrast to its inverse.Compare inverse(def 2).
- without intervening persons, influences, factors, etc.; immediate; personal: direct contact with the voters; direct exposure to a disease.
- straightforward; frank; candid: the direct remarks of a forthright individual.
- absolute; exact: the direct opposite.
- consisting exactly of the words originally used; verbatim: direct quotation.
- Government. of or by action of voters, which takes effect without representatives or another intervening agency, as in direct democracy.
- inevitable; consequential: War will be a direct result of such political action.
- allocated for or arising from a particular known agency, process, job, etc.: The new machine was listed by the accountant as a direct cost.
- Electricity. of or relating to direct current.
- Astronomy.
- moving in an orbit in the same direction as the earth in its revolution around the sun.
- appearing to move on the celestial sphere in the direction of the natural order of the signs of the zodiac, from west to east.Compare retrograde(def 4).
- Surveying. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.
- (of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.
adverb
- in a direct manner; directly; straight: Answer me direct.
verb (mainly tr)
- to regulate, conduct, or control the affairs of
- (also intr) to give commands or orders with authority to (a person or group)he directed them to go away
- to tell or show (someone) the way to a place
- to aim, point, or cause to move towards a goal
- to address (a letter, parcel, etc)
- to address (remarks, words, etc)to direct comments at someone
- (also intr) to provide guidance to (actors, cameramen, etc) in the rehearsal of a play or the filming of a motion picture
- (also intr)
- to conduct (a piece of music or musicians), usually while performing oneself
- another word (esp US) for conduct (def. 9)
adjective
- without delay or evasion; straightforwarda direct approach
- without turning aside; uninterrupted; shortest; straighta direct route
- without intervening persons or agencies; immediatea direct link
- honest; frank; candida direct answer
- (usually prenominal) precise; exacta direct quotation
- diametricalthe direct opposite
- in an unbroken line of descent, as from father to son over succeeding generationsa direct descendant
- (of government, decisions, etc) by or from the electorate rather than through representatives
- logic maths (of a proof) progressing from the premises to the conclusion, rather than eliminating the possibility of the falsehood of the conclusionCompare indirect proof
- astronomy moving from west to east on the celestial sphereCompare retrograde (def. 4a)
-
- of or relating to direct current
- (of a secondary induced current) having the same direction as the primary current
- music
- (of motion) in the same directionSee motion (def. 9)
- (of an interval or chord) in root position; not inverted
adverb
- directly; straighthe went direct to the office
late 14c., “to write (to someone), to address,” from Latin directus “straight,” past participle of dirigere “set straight,” from dis- “apart” (see dis-) + regere “to guide” (see regal). Cf. dress; address.
Meaning “to govern, regulate” is from c.1500; “to order, ordain” is from 1650s. Sense of “to write the destination on the outside of a letter” is from 16c. Of plays, films, etc., from 1913. Related: Directed; directing.
late 14c., from Latin directus “straight,” past participle of dirigere “set straight” (see direct (v.)).