direct
adjective · adverb · verb
Simple meaning
Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
derehktSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
dɚˈɛkt
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end.
Straightforward; sincere.
In the line of descent; not collateral.
Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
adverb
Directly.
verb
To point out to or show (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way; to refer.
Command with authority
“He directed the children to do their homework.”
To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order.
To manage, control, steer.
To aim (something) at (something else).
Direct the course; determine the direction of travelling
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Proceeding without deviation or interruption.
Used this way, direct is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use direct
- “He directed the children to do their homework.”verb
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Word family
Words built from the same root.
Someone who controls resources and expenditures.
A pronouncement encouraging or banning some activity.
Without deviation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A flight with one or more intermediate stops but no change of aircraft.
Formerly a school that charged tuition fees and also received government grants in return for admitting certain non-paying students who were nominated by the local authorities.
A loan by a lender to a customer without the use of a third party.
Advertising sent directly to prospective customers via the mail.
A distributor who uses direct mail to sell merchandise.
Marketing via a promotion delivered directly to the individual prospective customer.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Collections with this word
Themed sets you can browse for free.
Use it yourself
Knowing “direct” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.