direction definition | Dictionary.com

di⋅rec⋅tion

[di-rek-shuh

n, dahy-]

–noun

1.	the act or an instance of directing.

2.	the line along which anything lies, faces, moves, etc., with reference to the point or region toward which it is directed: The storm moved in a northerly direction.

3.	the point or region itself: The direction is north.

4.	a position on a line extending from a specific point toward a point of the compass or toward the nadir or the zenith.

5.	a line of thought or action or a tendency or inclination: the direction of contemporary thought.

6.	Usually, directions. instruction or guidance for making, using, etc.: directions for baking a cake.

7.	order; command.

8.	management; control; guidance; supervision: a company under good direction.

9.	a directorate.

10.	the name and address of the intended recipient as written on a letter, package, etc.

11.	decisions in a stage or film production as to stage business, speaking of lines, lighting, and general presentation.

12.	the technique, act, or business of making such decisions, managing and training a cast of actors, etc.

13.	the technique, act, or business of directing an orchestra, concert, or other musical presentation or group.

14.	Music. a symbol or phrase that indicates in a score the proper tempo, style of performance, mood, etc.

15.	a purpose or orientation toward a goal that serves to guide or motivate; focus: He doesn't seem to have any direction in life.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME direccioun (< MF) < L dīrēctiōn- (s. of dīrēctiō) arranging in line, straightening. See direct, -ion

Related forms:

di⋅rec⋅tion⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
5. See tendency.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To direction

di·rec·tion (dĭ-rěk'shən, dī-)

The act or function of directing.
Management, supervision, or guidance of an action or operation.
The art or action of musical or theatrical directing.
Music A word or phrase in a score indicating how a passage is to be played or sung.
An instruction or series of instructions for doing or finding something. Often used in the plural.
An authoritative indication; an order or command.
1. The distance-independent relationship between two points in space that specifies the angular position of either with respect to the other; the relationship by which the alignment or orientation of any position with respect to any other position is established.
2. A position to which motion or another position is referred.
3. A line leading to a place or point.
4. The line or course along which a person or thing moves.
The statement in degrees of the angle measured between due north and a given line or course on a compass.
A course or area of development; a tendency toward a particular end or goal: charting a new direction for the company.

[Middle English, arrangement, from Latin dīrēctiō, dīrēctiōn-, from dīrēctus, past participle of dīrigere, to direct; see direct.]
di·rec'tion·less adj.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Direction

Di*rec"tion\, n. [L. directio: cf. F. direction.]

1. The act of directing, of aiming, regulating, guiding, or ordering; guidance; management; superintendence; administration; as, the direction o? public affairs or of a bank.

I do commit his youth To your direction. --Shak.

All nature is but art, unknown to thee; ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see. --Pope.

2. That which is imposed by directing; a guiding or authoritative instruction; prescription; order; command; as, he grave directions to the servants.

The princes digged the well . . . by the direction of the law giver. --Numb. xxi. 18.

3. The name and residence of a person to whom any thing is sent, written upon the thing sent; superscription; address; as, the direction of a letter.

4. The line or course upon which anything is moving or aimed to move, or in which anything is lying or pointing; aim; line or point of tendency; direct line or course; as, the ship sailed in a southeasterly direction.

5. The body of managers of a corporation or enterprise; board of directors.

6. (Gun.) The pointing of a piece with reference to an imaginary vertical axis; -- distinguished from elevation. The direction is given when the plane of sight passes through the object. --Wilhelm.

Syn: Administration; guidance; management; superintendence; oversight; government; order; command; guide; clew.

Usage: Direction, Control, Command, Order. These words, as here compared, have reference to the exercise of power over the actions of others. Control is negative, denoting power to restrain; command is positive, implying a right to enforce obedience; directions are commands containing instructions how to act. Order conveys more prominently the idea of authority than the word direction. A shipmaster has the command of his vessel; he gives orders or directions to the seamen as to the mode of sailing it; and exercises a due control over the passengers.

Language Translation for : direction

Spanish: dirección,

German: die Richtung,

Japanese: 方向

More Translations »

direction

see step in the right direction.

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