Direct definition |Dictionary.com

Direct

Sponsored Links DIRECTV Official Offer
Free 4 Months, Free HD-DVR Free HBO 265+ Channels w/ 130 HD. Save $663!
www.directstartv.com/DIRECTV

DIRECTV - Official Site
DIRECTV Official Site. Packages as low as $29.99/mo. Order today!
www.directv.com

21 dictionary results for: Direct

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

di·rect

[di-rekt, dahy-] Pronunciation Key

–verb (used with object)

1.	to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc.: He directed the company through a difficult time.

2.	to regulate the course of; control: History is directed by a small number of great men and women.

3.	to administer; manage; supervise: She directs the affairs of the estate.

4.	to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain: I directed him to leave the room.

5.	to serve as a director in the production or performance of (a musical work, play, motion picture, etc.).

6.	to guide, tell, or show (a person) the way to a place: I directed him to the post office.

7.	to point, aim, or send toward a place or object: to direct radio waves around the globe.

8.	to channel or focus toward a given result, object, or end (often fol. by to or toward): She directed all her energies toward the accomplishment of the work.

9.	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.

10.	to address (a letter, package, etc.) to an intended recipient.

–verb (used without object)

11.	to act as a guide.

12.	to give commands or orders.

13.	to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.

–adjective

14.	proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique: a direct route.

15.	proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral: a direct descendant.

16.

Mathematics.

a.	(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).

b.	(of a function) the function itself, in contrast to its inverse. Compare inverse (def. 2).

17.	without intervening persons, influences, factors, etc.; immediate; personal: direct contact with the voters; direct exposure to a disease.

18.	straightforward; frank; candid: the direct remarks of a forthright individual.

19.	absolute; exact: the direct opposite.

20.	consisting exactly of the words originally used; verbatim: direct quotation.

21.	Government. of or by action of voters, which takes effect without any intervening agency such as representatives.

22.	inevitable; consequential: War will be a direct result of such political action.

23.	allocated for or arising from a particular known agency, process, job, etc.: The new machine was listed by the accountant as a direct cost.

24.	Electricity. of or pertaining to direct current.

25.

Astronomy.

a.	moving in an orbit in the same direction as the earth in its revolution around the sun.

b.	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).

26.	Surveying. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.

27.	(of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.

–adverb

28.	in a direct manner; directly; straight: Answer me direct.

[Origin: 1325–75; ME direct (adj., adv.), directen (v.) (< AF) < L dīréctus, déréctus (the latter prob. the orig. form, later reanalyzed as dī- di-²), ptp. of dérigere to align, straighten, guide (dé- de- + -rigere, comb. form of regere to guide, rule)

]

—Related forms

di·rect·a·ble, adjective

di·rect·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. See guide. 4. Direct, order, command mean to issue instructions. Direct suggests also giving explanations or advice; the emphasis is not on the authority of the director, but on steps necessary for the accomplishing of a purpose. Order connotes a personal relationship in which one in a superior position imperatively instructs a subordinate to do something. Command, less personal and, often, less specific in detail, suggests greater formality and, sometimes, a more fixed authority on the part of the superior. 18. open, sincere, outspoken.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

direct
adjective
1.	direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short; "a direct route"; "a direct flight"; "a direct hit" [ant: indirect]
2.	having no intervening persons, agents, conditions; "in direct sunlight"; "in direct contact with the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a direct link"; "the direct cause of the accident"; "direct vote"
3.	straightforward in means or manner or behavior or language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct approach" [ant: indirect]
4.	in a straight unbroken line of descent from parent to child; "lineal ancestors"; "lineal heirs"; "a direct descendant of the king"; "direct heredity" [syn: lineal] [ant: collateral]
5.	moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth [ant: retrograde]
6.	similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity; "a term is in direct proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases)" [ant: inverse]
7.	(of a current) flowing in one direction only; "direct current" [ant: alternating]
8.	being an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of the accident"
9.	in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim"
10.	lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"
adverb
1.	without deviation; "the path leads directly to the lake"; "went direct to the office" [syn: directly]
verb
1.	command with authority; "He directed the children to do their homework"
2.	intend (something) to move towards a certain goal; "He aimed his fists towards his opponent's face"; "criticism directed at her superior"; "direct your anger towards others, not towards yourself" [syn: target]
3.	guide the actors in (plays and films)
4.	be in charge of
5.	take somebody somewhere; "We lead him to our chief"; "can you take me to the main entrance?"; "He conducted us to the palace" [syn: lead]
6.	cause to go somewhere; "The explosion sent the car flying in the air"; "She sent her children to camp"; "He directed all his energies into his dissertation" [syn: send]
7.	point or cause to go (blows, weapons, or objects such as photographic equipment) towards; "Please don't aim at your little brother!"; "He trained his gun on the burglar"; "Don't train your camera on the women"; "Take a swipe at one's opponent" [syn: aim]
8.	lead, as in the performance of a composition; "conduct an orchestra; Barenboim conducted the Chicago symphony for years" [syn: conduct]
9.	give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction; "I directed them towards the town hall"
10.	specifically design a product, event, or activity for a certain public [syn: calculate]
11.	direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
12.	put an address on (an envelope) [syn: address]
13.	plan and direct (a complex undertaking); "he masterminded the robbery" [syn: mastermind]