Word.ws English Dictionary

direct

Syllables: di·rectUK/daɪˈɹɛkt/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

Australia/dɑeˈɹekt/

direct adjective: proceeding without deviation or interruption.

Adjective

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

  1. Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
    Synonyms:
    immediate
  2. Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.
    • the most direct route between two buildings
  3. Straightforward; sincere.
    • Be even and direct with me.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  4. Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
    • He nowhere, that I know, says it in direct words.1689 December (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], chapter 1, in Two Treatises of Government: […], London: […] Awnsham Churchill, […], →OCLC
    • Nor did the government scruple a direct and avowed interference with elections.1827, Henry Hallam, “On the English Constitution from Henry VII. to Mary”, in The Constitutional History of England from the Accession of Henry VII. to the Death of George II. […], volume I, London...
    Synonyms:
    explicit
  5. In the line of descent; not collateral.
    • a descendant in the direct line
  6. 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.
  7. Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates.
    • direct nomination; direct legislation
  8. Having a single flight number.
  9. Not employing the law of the excluded middle or argument by contradiction.
    Antonyms:
    indirect

Adverb

direct (comparative more direct, superlative most direct)

  1. Directly.
    • The walls, which are fixed direct into the ground without a plinth, are made of wattle and plastered with a thin lair of mud or cowdung.1912, Central Provinces (India), Central Provinces District Gazetteers, page 96
    • Presumably Mary is to carry messages that she, Anne, is too delicate to convey direct.2009, Hilary Mantel, Wolf Hall, Fourth Estate, published 2010, page 346

Verb

direct (third-person singular simple present directs, present participle directing, simple past and past participle directed)

  1. To manage, control, steer.
    • to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army
    • Pent up in Utica he vainly forms
      A poor Epitome of Roman Greatneſs,
      And, cover’d with Numidian Guards, directs
      A feeble Army, and an empty Senate,
      Remnants of mighty Battels fought in vain.1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2
  2. To aim (something) at (something else).
    • They directed their fire towards the men on the wall.
    • He directed his question to the room in general.
  3. To point out to or show (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; to refer.
    • He directed me to the left-hand road.
    • the next points to which I will direct your attention1882, John Lubbock, Flowers, Fruits and Leaves
    Synonyms:
    point
  4. To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.
    • She directed them to leave immediately.
    • I'll first direct my men what they shall do.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merry Wiues of Windsor”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  5. (dated) To address (a letter) to a particular person or place.
    • [A]s I do not know where I shall be, and shall have my letters sent after me as soon as I do know, continue to direct hither.1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 310

direct meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

direct in Hindi

straight, constant, without interruption
सीधा sīdhā

direct in Tamil

இயக்கு, வழிகாட்டு, வழிப்படுத்து, திசை காட்டு, கட்டளையிடு, நேரடி

direct in Marathi

दिग्दर्शित करणे, निर्देशित करणे

direct in Urdu

straight, constant, without interruption
سیدھا sīdhā
More languagesFewer languages
direct in Bengali
প্রত্যক্ষ prottokkho, সরাসরি śoraśori, সোজা śōja, সিধা śidha
direct in Malayalam
നേർ nēṟ
direct in Kannada
ಅವಲ್ aval
direct in Punjabi
ਸਿੱਧਾ siddhā
direct in Gujarati
સીધું sīdhũ
direct in Odia
ବତାଇବା batāibā
direct in Sanskrit
राष्टि rāṣṭi
direct in Nepali
प्रत्यक्ष, निर्देशन गर्ने, निर्देशन गर्न
direct in Arabic
مُبَاشِر mubāšir, أَخْرَجَ ʔaḵraja, وَجَّه wajjah, قَاد qād
direct in Indonesian
menyutradarai
direct in Persian
مستقیم mostaqim, راست râst, اداره کردن edâre kardan, رایانیدن râyânidan

Examples of direct in a sentence

  • Although not a direct cause, the border skirmish was certainly a collateral incitement for the war.
  • A fabricator is used to direct a sharp blow to the surface of the stone.
  • Consanguinity in direct line is a challenge for a judge when he or she is sitting cases.

All 40 example sentences with direct

Synonyms of direct

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of direct

Forms of direct

Adjective
comparativemore direct
superlativemost direct
Adverb
comparativemore direct
superlativemost direct
Verb
third-person singular presentdirects
present participledirecting
past participledirected
pastdirected

Past tense of direct: directed

Origin of direct

Borrowed from Latin dīrēctus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress. Doublet of derecho. For the meaning development compare with Russian напра́вить (naprávitʹ, “to direct, to turn, to aim, to level, to point”), отпра́вить (otprávitʹ, “to send, to dispatch, to forward”) connected with пра́вить (právitʹ, “to govern, to rule, to drive, to steer”).

Words formed from direct

Phrases with direct

40 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with direct

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about direct

What does direct mean?
Direct means proceeding without deviation or interruption.
What is direct in Hindi?
Direct in Hindi is सीधा (sīdhā). See Direct meaning in Hindi.
What part of speech is direct?
Direct can be an adjective, an adverb or a verb.
How do you pronounce direct?
Direct is pronounced /daɪˈɹɛkt/ (UK).

Words near direct in the dictionary

  1. dire straits
  2. dire wolf
  3. dire wolves
  4. direcshun
  5. direcshuns
  6. direct
  7. direct access
  8. direct action
  9. direct actioner
  10. direct actioners
  11. direct actionist

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: direct (page history and authors); direct (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); direct (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); প্রত্যক্ষ (Bengali) (page history and authors); നേർ (Malayalam) (page history and authors); ಅವಲ್ (Kannada) (page history and authors); ਸਿੱਧਾ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); સીધું (Gujarati) (page history and authors); ବତାଇବା (Odia) (page history and authors); direct (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.

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

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