direct.
Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
Meaning & usage
Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
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
Straightforward; sincere.
Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
In the line of descent; not collateral.
a descendant in the direct line
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.
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
Having a single flight number.
Not employing the law of the excluded middle or argument by contradiction.
Where this word comes from
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”).
Directly.
Where this word comes from
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”).
To manage, control, steer.
to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army
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.
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.
To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.
She directed them to leave immediately.
To address (a letter) to a particular person or place.
Where this word comes from
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”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.