Direct definition
To give an order to; command.
Directed the student to answer.
verb
In a direct manner; directly.
adverb
With nothing or no one between; immediate; close, firsthand, or personal.
Direct contact, direct knowledge, direct marketing.
adjective
Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving.
A direct route.
adjective
Having no intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate.
Direct contact; direct sunlight.
adjective
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Being of unbroken descent; lineal.
A direct descendant of the monarch.
adjective
The definition of direct is something that is the shortest way or someone honest and to the point.
An example of direct is a non-stop plane trip from Los Angeles to Seattle.
An example of direct is someone telling a friend they would look better wearing make up.
adjective
Consisting of the exact words of the writer or speaker.
A direct quotation; direct speech.
adjective
By the shortest way, without turning or stopping; not roundabout; not interrupted; straight.
A direct route.
adjective
Straightforward and candid; not devious or ambiguous.
A direct response.
adjective
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Effected by action of the voters, rather than through elected representatives or delegates.
Direct elections.
adjective
Lacking compromising or mitigating elements; absolute.
Direct opposites.
adjective
To direct is defined as to supervise, manage or point towards.
An example of to direct is instructing a performer what to do next in a play.
verb
(mathematics) Varying in the same manner as another quantity, especially increasing if another quantity increases or decreasing if it decreases.
adjective
(astronomy) Designating west-to-east motion of a planet in the same direction as the sun's apparent annual movement with respect to the stars.
adjective
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(sports) Being a direct free kick.
adjective
Honest and to the point; straightforward; frank.
A direct answer.
adjective
In an unbroken line of descent; lineal.
adjective
Exact; complete; absolute.
The direct opposite.
adjective
In the exact words of the speaker.
A direct quotation.
adjective
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Not needing a mordant.
adjective
By or of action of the people through popular vote instead of through representatives or delegates.
adjective
(astron.) From west to east.
adjective
(math.) Designating or of a relation between variables in which one increases or decreases with the other.
A direct proportion.
adjective
To manage the affairs, course, or action of; guide; conduct; regulate.
verb
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To order or command with authority.
verb
To turn or point (a person or thing) toward an object or goal; aim; head.
verb
To tell (a person) the way to a place.
verb
To address (words, remarks, etc.) to a specific person or persons, or in a specific direction.
verb
To write the name and address on (a letter, etc.)
verb
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To give directions; make a practice of directing.
verb
To be a director, as of a group of performers.
verb
To order or cause a person or entity to carry out a course of action; more generally, to govern an enterprise or activity. Of a judge, the giving of a verbal instruction to a witness or jury to behave in a certain way, as in, “the witness is directed to answer yes or no to the questions” or “the jury is directed to disregard the defendant’s outburst.”
verb
Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.
The most direct route between two buildings.
adjective
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Straightforward; sincere.
adjective
Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
adjective
(astronomy) In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; said of the motion of a celestial body.
adjective
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To aim (something) at (something else).
They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.
He directed his question to the room in general.
verb
To point out or show to (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way.
He directed me to the left-hand road.
verb
To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.
She directed them to leave immediately.
verb
Straight; directly.
adverb
To manage or regulate the business or affairs of; be in charge of.
Direct a government agency.
verb
To supervise or oversee (an activity or process).
Direct the building of a new road.
verb
To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work.
verb
To supervise the performance of.
Direct a play.
verb
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To cause to move in a certain direction or toward a certain object; turn or point.
Directed the light toward the end of the hall.
verb
To concentrate or focus (one's sight or attention, for example) on a particular object or activity.
verb
To indicate the intended recipient on (a letter, for example).
verb
To address or adapt (remarks, for example) to a specific person, audience, or purpose.
verb
To give commands or directions.
verb
To conduct a performance or rehearsal.
verb
To plan the action and effects of (a play, film, etc.) and to supervise and instruct (the actors and technicians) in the carrying out of such a plan.
verb
To rehearse and conduct the performance of (a choir, band, etc.)
verb
To show or indicate the way for.
Directed us to the airport.
verb
Origin of direct
-
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Latin dīrectus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”).
From Wiktionary