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

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

di·rect       (dĭ-rěkt', dī-)  Pronunciation Key  v.   di·rect·ed, di·rect·ing, di·rects v.   tr. To manage or conduct the affairs of; regulate. To have or take charge of; control. See Synonyms at conduct. To give authoritative instructions to: directed the student to answer. To cause to move toward a goal; aim. See Synonyms at aim. To show or indicate the way for: directed us to the airport. To cause to move in or follow a straight course: directed their fire at the target. To indicate the intended recipient on (a letter, for example). To address or adapt (remarks, for example) to a specific person, audience, or purpose. To give guidance and instruction to (actors or musicians, for example) in the rehearsal and performance of a work. To supervise the performance of. v.   intr. To give commands or directions. To conduct a performance or rehearsal. adj.   Proceeding without interruption in a straight course or line; not deviating or swerving: a direct route. Straightforward and candid; frank: a direct response. Having no intervening persons, conditions, or agencies; immediate: direct contact; direct sunlight. Effected by action of the voters, rather than through elected representatives or delegates: direct elections. Being of unbroken descent; lineal: a direct descendant of the monarch. Consisting of the exact words of the writer or speaker: a direct quotation; direct speech. Lacking compromising or mitigating elements; absolute: direct opposites. Mathematics Varying in the same manner as another quantity, especially increasing if another quantity increases or decreasing if it decreases. Astronomy Designating west-to-east motion of a planet in the same direction as the sun's movement against the stars. Sports Being a free kick in soccer by which a goal can be scored without the ball being touched by a second player. adv.   Straight; directly. [Middle English directen, from Latin dīrigere, dīrēct-, to give direction to : dī-, dis-, apart; see dis- + regere, to guide; see reg- in Indo-European roots.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
direct 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

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]

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: di·rect
Function: transitive verb
1 : to order with authority directed that the car go to his niece>
2 : to order entry of (a verdict) without jury consideration directed a verdict in favor of the defendant>
3 : to act as director of intransitive verb : to act as director

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: direct
Function: adjective
1 a : stemming immediately from a source <direct costs> direct claim> —compare DERIVATIVE b : being or passing in a straight line from parent to offspring : LINEAL direct ancestor> —compare COLLATERAL
2 : marked by absence of any intervening agency, instrumentality, or influence <direct consequences>
3 : effected by the action of the people or the electorate and not by representatives <direct democracy>
4 : characterized by close logical, causal, or consequential relationship direct interest in the outcome of the litigation> —di·rect·ly adverb

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: direct
Function: noun
: DIRECT EXAMINATION direct>

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Direct

Di*rect"\, a. [L. directus, p. p. of dirigere to direct: cf. F. direct. See Dress, and cf. Dirge.]

1. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end; as, a direct line; direct means.

What is direct to, what slides by, the question. --Locke.

2. Straightforward; not of crooked ways, or swerving from truth and openness; sincere; outspoken.

Be even and direct with me. --Shak.

3. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.

He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words. --Locke.

A direct and avowed interference with elections. --Hallam.

4. In the line of descent; not collateral; as, a descendant in the direct line.

5. (Astron.) 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.

Direct action. (Mach.) See Direct-acting.

Direct discourse (Gram.), the language of any one quoted without change in its form; as, he said "I can not come;" -- correlative to indirect discourse, in which there is change of form; as, he said that he could not come. They are often called respectively by their Latin names, oratio directa, and oratio obliqua.

Direct evidence (Law), evidence which is positive or not inferential; -- opposed to circumstantial, or indirect, evidence. -- This distinction, however, is merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its credibility. --Wharton.

Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the merits. --Abbott.

Direct fire (Mil.), fire, the direction of which is perpendicular to the line of troops or to the parapet aimed at.

Direct process (Metal.), one which yields metal in working condition by a single process from the ore. --Knight.

Direct tax, a tax assessed directly on lands, etc., and polls, distinguished from taxes on merchandise, or customs, and from excise.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Direct

Di*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Directed; p. pr. & vb. n. Directing.]

1. To arrange in a direct or straight line, as against a mark, or towards a goal; to point; to aim; as, to direct an arrow or a piece of ordnance.

2. To point out or show to (any one), as the direct or right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; as, he directed me to the left-hand road.

The Lord direct your into the love of God. --2 Thess. iii. 5.

The next points to which I will direct your attention. --Lubbock.

3. To determine the direction or course of; to cause to go on in a particular manner; to order in the way to a certain end; to regulate; to govern; as, to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army.

I will direct their work in truth. --Is. lxi. 8.

4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order; as, he directed them to go.

I 'll first direct my men what they shall do. --Shak.

5. To put a direction or address upon; to mark with the name and residence of the person to whom anything is sent; to superscribe; as, to direct a letter.

Syn: To guide; lead; conduct; dispose; manage; regulate; order; instruct; command.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Direct

Di*rect"\, v. i. To give direction; to point out a course; to act as guide.

Wisdom is profitable to direct. --Eccl. x. 10.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Direct

Di*rect"\, n. (Mus.) A character, thus [?], placed at the end of a staff on the line or space of the first note of the next staff, to apprise the performer of its situation. --Moore (Encyc. of Music).

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Direct

Di*rect"\, a. (Political Science) Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates; as, direct nomination, direct legislation.