ad·dress

[n. uh-dres, ad-res; v. uh-dres] noun, verb, ad·dressed or ad·drest, ad·dress·ing.
noun
1.
a speech or written statement, usually formal, directed to a particular group of persons: the President's address on the state of the economy.
2.
a direction as to the intended recipient, written on or attached to a piece of mail.
3.
the place or the name of the place where a person, organization, or the like is located or may be reached: What is your address when you're in Des Moines?
4.
manner of speaking to persons; personal bearing in conversation.
5.
skillful and expeditious management; ready skill; dispatch: to handle a matter with address.
6.
Computers.
a.
a label, as an integer, symbol, or other set of characters, designating a location, register, etc., where information is stored in computer memory.
b.
a set of characters designating an e-mail account: Her e-mail address ends in “.net,” not “.com.”
c.
a set of characters designating the location of a Web site or a particular computer or other device on a network: He visits that Web site so often that its complete address comes up whenever he types its first letter into the address bar. See also URL.
7.
Government. a request to the executive by the legislature to remove a judge for unfitness.
8.
Usually, addresses. attentions paid by a suitor or lover; courtship.
9.
( usually initial capital letter ) the reply to the King's speech in the English Parliament.
10.
Obsolete, preparation.
verb (used with object)
11.
to direct a speech or written statement to: to address an assembly.
12.
to use a specified form or title in speaking or writing to: Address the President as “Mr. President.”
13.
to direct to the attention: He addressed his remarks to the lawyers in the audience.
14.
to apply in speech (used reflexively, usually followed by to ): He addressed himself to the leader.
15.
to deal with or discuss: to address the issues.
16.
to put the directions for delivery on: to address a letter.
17.
Commerce. to consign or entrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.
18.
to direct the energy or efforts of (usually followed by to ): He addressed himself to the task.
19.
to direct (data) to a specified location in an electronic computer.
20.
Golf. to take a stance and place the head of the club behind (the ball) preparatory to hitting it.
21.
Obsolete. to woo; court.
22.
Archaic. to give direction to; aim.
23.
Obsolete. to prepare.
00:10
Address is one of our favorite verbs.
So is peculate. Does it mean:
to steal or take dishonestly (money, esp. public funds, or property entrusted to one's care); embezzle.
to run away hurriedly; flee.
LEARN MORE FUN, UNUSUAL VERBS WITH WORD DYNAMO...
verb (used without object) Obsolete.
24.
to make an appeal.
25.
to make preparations.
Origin:
1300–50; Middle English adressen to adorn < Middle French adresser. See a-5, dress

Related forms
ad·dress·er, ad·dres·sor, noun
half-ad·dressed, adjective
pre·ad·dress, noun, verb (used with object)
re·ad·dress, verb (used with object), re·ad·dressed or re·ad·drest, re·ad·dress·ing.
un·ad·dressed, adjective
well-ad·dressed, adjective

Synonyms
1. discourse, lecture. See speech. 5. adroitness, cleverness, ingenuity, tact.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To address
Collins
World English Dictionary
address (əˈdrɛs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
1.  the conventional form by which the location of a building is described
2.  the written form of this, as on a letter or parcel, preceded by the name of the person or organization for whom it is intended
3.  the place at which someone lives
4.  a speech or written communication, esp one of a formal nature
5.  skilfulness or tact
6.  archaic manner or style of speaking or conversation
7.  computing See also direct access a number giving the location of a piece of stored information
8.  (Brit) government a statement of the opinions or wishes of either or both Houses of Parliament that is sent to the sovereign
9.  the alignment or position of a part, component, etc, that permits correct assembly or fitting
10.  (usually plural) expressions of affection made by a man in courting a woman
 
—vb , -dresses, -dressing, -dressed, -drest
11.  to mark (a letter, parcel, etc) with an address
12.  to speak to, refer to in speaking, or deliver a speech to
13.  (used reflexively; foll by to)
 a.  to speak or write to: he addressed himself to the chairman
 b.  to apply oneself to: he addressed himself to the task
14.  to direct (a message, warning, etc) to the attention of
15.  to consign or entrust (a ship or a ship's cargo) to a factor, merchant, etc
16.  to adopt a position facing (the ball in golf, a partner in a dance, the target in archery, etc)
17.  to treat of; deal with: chapter 10 addresses the problem of transitivity
18.  an archaic word for woo
 
[C14: (in the sense: to make right, adorn) and c15 (in the modern sense: to direct words): via Old French from Vulgar Latin addrictiāre (unattested) to make straight, direct oneself towards, from Latin ad- to + dīrectusdirect]
 
ad'dresser
 
—n
 
ad'dressor
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

address
late 14c., "to make straight," from O.Fr. adresser (13c.), from V.L. *addirectiare "make straight," from L. ad "to" + *directiare, from L. directus "straight, direct" (see direct). Meaning "to direct spoken words (to someone)" is from late 15c.; noun sense of "formal speech"
is from 1751. Meaning in English expanded 17c.-18c. to the notion of directing something, as a letter, "straight" to where somebody lives. "To send as a written message" is from 1630s, which led to noun senses of "superscription of a letter" (1712) and "place of residence" (1888). Related: Addressee (1810).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
FOLDOC
Computing Dictionary

address definition


1. e-mail address.
2. IP address.
3. MAC address.
4. An unsigned integer used to select one fundamental element of storage, usually known as a word from a computer's main memory or other storage device. The CPU outputs addresses on its address bus which may be connected to an address decoder, cache controller, memory management unit, and other devices.
While from a hardware point of view an address is indeed an integer most strongly typed programming languages disallow mixing integers and addresses, and indeed addresses of different data types. This is a fine example for syntactic salt: the compiler could work without it but makes writing bad programs more difficult.
(1997-07-01)

The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © Denis Howe 2010 http://foldoc.org
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Every effort to address it has provoked a groundswell of angry obstructionism
  and demagoguery.
He seemed slightly anxious, but excited, as he took the podium to address the
  crowd.
The problem with the two-state idea as it has been construed is that it does
  not truly address what it purports to resolve.
For that bigger picture, the link between relocation and crime patterns is
  overwhelming, and cities need to address it.
Partners:WordBloglinesCitysearchThe Daily BeastAsk AnswersAsk KidsLife123SendoriThesaurus
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
About PRIVACY POLICY Terms API Careers Advertise with Us Contact Us Suggest a Word Help
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT