Word.ws English Dictionary

address

Syllables: ad·dress/əˈdɹɛs/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

rare/ˈædɹɛs/

address noun: guidance; help.

Noun

address (plural addresses)

  1. (obsolete) Guidance; help.
  2. (archaic, in plural) A polite approach made to another person, especially of a romantic nature; an amorous advance.
    • [H]e was thus agreeable, and I neither insensible of his Perfections, nor displeased at his Addresses to me […].1723, Richard Steele, The Lover and Reader, page 115
  3. A manner of speaking or writing to another; language, style.
    • a man of pleasing or insinuating address
  4. A formal approach to a sovereign or head of state, especially an official appeal or petition.
  5. (Commonwealth) A response given by each of the Houses of Parliament to the sovereign's speech at the opening of Parliament.
  6. An act of addressing oneself to a person or group; a discourse or speech, or a record of this.
    • Mr. Gregson, who had listened to this address with considerable impatience, could contain himself no longer.1887, Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, section VII
    • I watched her without knowing, with a prevision that she was going to address me, though with no sort of idea as to the subject of her address.1889, Margaret Oliphant, The Portrait
  7. A description of the location of a property, usually with at least a street name and number, name of a town, and now also a postal code; such a description as superscribed for direction on an envelope or letter.
    • Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be...2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18
    • The President's address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.
  8. The location of a property.
    • I went to his address but there was nobody there.
  9. A number identifying a specific storage location in computer memory.
    • The program will crash if there is no valid data stored at that address.
  10. (Internet) A string of characters identifying a node or range of nodes on a network (especially the Internet), such as an e-mail address, IP address or URL.
    Synonyms:
    network address
  11. (archaic) Preparedness for some task; resourcefulness; skill, ability.
    • This is one bad effect of a good Character—it invites applications from the unfortunate and there needs no small degree of address to gain the reputation of Benevolence without incurring the expence.—1777, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, The School for Scandal, V.i
    • The warmth of Father Pedro's constitution had formerly drawn him into some scrapes from which it required all his address to disengage himself, and rendered him exceedingly cautious ever after.1789, John Moore, Zeluco, Valancourt, published 2008, page 129
  12. (obsolete) The act of getting ready; preparation.
    • But now again she makes address to speak.1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes
  13. (Scotland) The act of bringing the head of the club up to the ball in preparation for swinging.

Verb

address (third-person singular simple present addresses, present participle addressing, simple past and past participle addressed or (obsolete) addrest)

  1. (intransitive, obsolete) To prepare oneself.
    • Let us address to tend on Hector's heels.c. 1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  2. (intransitive, obsolete) To direct speech.
    • Young Turnus to the Beaubteous Maid addreſs’d.1697, Virgil, “Virgil’s Æneis, Book VII”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 402
  3. (obsolete, transitive) To aim; to direct.
    • And this good knight his way with me addrest.1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto X”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To prepare or make ready.
    • His foe was soone addrest.1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book IV, Canto III”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 14
    • Then Turnus, from his chariot, leaping light, Addreſs’d himſelf on foot to ſingle fight.1697, Virgil, “Virgil’s Æneis, Book X”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 517
  5. (reflexive, transitive) To prepare oneself; to apply one's skill or energies (to some object); to betake.
    • These men addressed themselves to the task.1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter VI, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and...
    • […] good heavens! dumplings for supper! One young fellow in a green box coat, addressed himself to these dumplings in a most direful manner.1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 3”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC
  6. (reflexive) To direct one’s remarks (to someone).
    • In the Reign of King Charles the Second, a certain Worthy Divine at Whitehall, thus Address’d himself to the Auditory at the conclusion of his Sermon.1701, Thomas Brown, Laconics, or New Maxims of State and Conversation, London: Thomas Hodgson, section 76, p. 103
    • There were ſeveral of his Prieſts and Lawyers preſent, (as I conjectured by their habits) who were commanded to addreſs themſelves to me, and I ſpoke to them in as many Languages as I had the leaſt ſmattering of, which were High and Low Dutch, Latin, French, Spaniſh, Italian, and Lingua Franca; but...1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], “The Emperor of Lilliput, Attended by Several of the Nobility, Come to See the Author in His Confinement. […]”, in Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World....
  7. (archaic, transitive) To clothe or array; to dress.
    • Likewise Vincentius, and Petrus de Natalibus, and others your writers and recorders of fables could have told you that Tecla sometime addressed herself in man's apparel, and, had she not been forbidden by St Paul, would have followed him in company as a man.1566–67, John Jewel, “The Defence of the Apology”, in The Works of John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, volume 4, Cambridge: University of Cambridge, published 1845, page 651
  8. (transitive) To direct, as words (to anyone or anything); to make, as a speech, petition, etc. (to any audience).
    • though the young Heroe had addreſs’d his Prayers to him for his aſſiſtance1697, Virgil, “Dedication [of the Æneis]”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page [187]
    • He addressed some portions of his remarks to his supporters, some to his opponents.
  9. (transitive) To direct speech to; to make a communication to, whether spoken or written; to apply to by words, as by a speech, petition, etc., to speak to.
    • Are not your orders to address the senate?1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act II, scene i, page 20
    • The representatives of the nation in parliament, and the privy council, address the king1724, Jonathan Swift, “Drapier's Letters”, in 3
  10. (transitive) To direct in writing, as a letter; to superscribe, or to direct and transmit.
    • He addressed a letter.
  11. (transitive) To make suit to as a lover; to court; to woo.
  12. (transitive) To consign or entrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.
    • The ship was addressed to a merchant in Baltimore.
Show 4 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. (transitive) To address oneself to; to prepare oneself for; to apply oneself to; to direct one's speech, discourse or efforts to.
    • He stepped away from the sink, put up the toilet ring (Vi complained bitterly if he forgot to put it down when he was through, but never seemed to feel any pressing need to put it back up when she was), and addressed the John.1990, Stephen King, The Moving Finger
    • Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are […] . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)2012 March, Lee A. Groat, “Gemstones”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 128
  2. (formal, transitive) To direct attention towards a problem or obstacle, in an attempt to resolve it.
    • "By all means we want people to use social media, but we do not want you to use it in ways that will incite violence," said Jonathan Toy, Southwark council's head of community safety. "This remains a big issue for us and without some form of censorship purely focusing on [violent videos], I'm not...2012 April 19, Josh Halliday, “Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?”, in The Guardian
    • Formerly [sic: Formally] known as the Rail Safety and Standards Board, the not-for-profit organisation's remit includes managing and developing Railway Group Standards on behalf of the rail industry, leading the development of long-term safety strategy, and supporting cross-industry groups that...2020 December 2, Mark Phillips, “Rebuilding Rail in the 2020s”, in Rail, page 46
    Synonyms:
    speak to, field
  3. (transitive) To refer to a location in computer memory.
  4. (Scotland, transitive) To get ready to hit (the ball on the tee).

address meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

address in Hindi

description of the location of a property; direction for correspondence
पता patā

address in Tamil

முகவரி, விலாசம், உரை, அளவளாவும் முறை, கப்பலை அனுப்பும் செய்கை, முகவரி எழுது

address in Marathi

description of the location of a property; direction for correspondence
पत्ता pattā

address in Urdu

description of the location of a property; direction for correspondence
پَتَہ pata
More languagesFewer languages
address in Bengali
ঠিকানা ṭhikana, পাত্তা patta
address in Telugu
సంభోధన sambhōdhana, చిరునామా cirunāmā
address in Malayalam
അഭിസംബോധനം abhisambōdhanaṁ, അഭിസംബോധന abhisambōdhana, വിലാസം vilāsaṁ, മേൽവിലാസം mēlvilāsaṁ
address in Kannada
ವಿಳಾಸ viḷāsa
address in Punjabi
ਸਰਨਾਵਾਂ sarnāvā̃, ਟਿਕਾਣਾ ṭikāṇā
address in Gujarati
સરનામું sarnāmũ
address in Odia
ସମ୍ବୋଧନ sambodhana, ଠିକଣା ṭhikaṇā
address in Sanskrit
आचरति ācarati
address in Sinhala
ලිපිනය lipinaya, ඇඩ්රස් එක æḍras eka
address in Pashto
آدرس ādrás, ادرس adrés
address in Tagalog
tirahan, padalahan, adres
address in Arabic
خُطْبَة ḵuṭba, نِدَاء nidāʔ, عُنْوَان ʕunwān, عِنْوَان ʕinwān
address in Malay
alamat
address in Indonesian
alamat
address in Persian
آماده کردن, مورد ملاحظه قرار دادن, خواستگاری کردن
address in Thai
ที่อยู่ tîi-yùu
address in Vietnamese
địa chỉ, chuyên chú, theo đòi
address in Myanmar
လိပ်စာ lipca
Sindhi
سَرنْامو sarnāmo

Examples of address in a sentence

  • Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18:
  • At their turning-lathes, they employ their toes to guide the chisel; and, in these pedipulations, shew to Europeans a diverting degree of address.1813, “Customs, Manners, and present Appearance of Constantinople”, in The New Annual Register, or General Repository of History, Politics...
  • The five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the noise of the bridegroom's coming.1649, Jeremy Taylor, The Great Exemplar of Sanctity and Holy Life According to the Christian Institution:
  • It is to the illustration and explanation of a few such relics of ruder times, as they are preserved like fossils in the Old Testament, that I have addressed myself in the present work.1918, James George Frazer, Folk-Lore In The Old Testament, volume 1, page vii:

All 40 example sentences with address

Synonyms of address

23 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of address

Forms of address

Noun
pluraladdresses
Verb
third-person singular presentaddresses
present participleaddressing
past participleaddressed
pastaddressed
past participle (obsolete)addrest
past (obsolete)addrest

Past tense of address: addressed

Plural of address: addresses

Origin of address

From Middle English adressen (“to raise erect, adorn”), from Old French adrecier (“to straighten, address”) (modern French adresser), from Proto-Romance *addīrēctiāre, from ad- (“to; towards”) + *dīrēctiāre (“to guide; to direct”), from Latin dīrēctus (“straight; right”), from dīrigō (“to lay straight; to direct”), itself from regō (“to govern, to rule”). Cognate with Spanish aderezar (“to garnish; dress (food); to add spices”).

Words formed from address

Phrases with address

2 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with address

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about address

What does address mean?
Address means guidance; help.
What is address in Hindi?
Address in Hindi is पता (patā). See Address meaning in Hindi.
How do you use address in a sentence?
Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.
What part of speech is address?
Address can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce address?
Address is pronounced /əˈdɹɛs/.
What is the plural of address?
The plural of address is addresses.

Words near address in the dictionary

  1. addorses
  2. addorsing
  3. ADDOs
  4. addra
  5. addras
  6. address
  7. address assignment
  8. address bar
  9. address bars
  10. address book
  11. address books

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: address (page history and authors); address (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਟਿਕਾਣਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); आचरति (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-address.ogg, En-uk-address.ogg.

Cite this entry: “address.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/address. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.