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• directory
  directory

  noun

  a book containing an alphabetical index of the names and addresses of persons in a city, district, organization, etc., or of a particular category of people.
• Directory
  Directory

  noun

  history the body of five directors in power in France from 1795 until their overthrow by Napoleon in 1799

directory

American  

[dih-rek-tuh-ree, -tree, dahy-] / dɪˈrɛk tə ri, -tri, daɪ- /

noun

• directories
  plural

1. a book containing an alphabetical index of the names and addresses of persons in a city, district, organization, etc., or of a particular category of people.

2. a board or tablet on a wall of a building listing the room and floor numbers of the occupants.

3. a book of directions.

4. Computers.

   1. Also called folder. an organizing unit in a computer's file system for storing and locating files. In a hierarchical file system, directories can contain child directories subdirectories as well as files.

   2. a description of characteristics of a particular file, as the layout of fields within each record.

5. French History. the Directory, the body of five directors forming the executive power of France from 1795 to 1799.

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adjective

1. serving to direct; directing; directive.

directory ¹ British  

/ dɪˈrɛktərɪ, daɪ-, -trɪ /

noun

1. a book, arranged alphabetically or classified by trade listing names, addresses, telephone numbers, etc, of individuals or firms

2. a book or manual giving directions

3. a book containing the rules to be observed in the forms of worship used in churches

4. a less common word for directorate

5. computing an area of a disk, Winchester disk, or floppy disk that contains the names and locations of files currently held on that disk

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adjective

1. directing

Directory ² British  

/ dɪˈrɛktərɪ, daɪ-, -trɪ /

noun

1. Also known as: the French Directory. history the body of five directors in power in France from 1795 until their overthrow by Napoleon in 1799

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• directories
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of directory

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Medieval Latin dīrēctōrium, noun use of Late Latin dīrēctōrius directorial; directory in def. 5, translation of French Directoire, from Medieval Latin, as above

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Explanation

A directory is a type of catalog, an organized list of people or businesses and how to contact them. If you need to find your lab partner's phone number, check the school directory. An old-fashioned phone book is a directory, an alphabetical list of the people in your city or town, along with their phone number and address. These days such a directory is more often found online. In computing, a directory is also known as a folder, and it contains information about how data is stored in a computer. In the 16th century, a directory was a book of religious guidelines and rules. Directory comes from a Latin root meaning "to set straight."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

directory Directory directories

Black men made up 60% of oystermen listed in an 1810 directory, working together with white oystermen as part of a prosperous local industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026

Scottish Borders Council's website has a directory listing all 69 community councils across the region, including links to their social media pages, email contacts and websites.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

Of the 400 California venues Scott has added to Only Everywhere’s directory, more than half don’t publish anything online about accessibility.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

"It's more a theme park than a shopping mall," Germany supporter Michael Karg, 48, said as he fingered through an A-Z list of restaurants on a digital directory.

From Barron's ● Jun. 27, 2026

I wish there were a directory somewhere of all of the kids in the building.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

The number of funeral homes has been steadily declining, down about 13% from 2004 to 2021, according to the National Directory of Morticians Redbook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026

The Mental Health Directory, external provides information about a range of services designed to support islanders' mental health and wellbeing.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

Using the Hollywood Creative Directory, he looked up three Black showrunners in Los Angeles and mailed letters to each of them asking for a job.

From New York Times ● Sep. 22, 2023

From failing insurrections in Paris and the establishment of a new regime known as the Directory, the key drivers of the assignat were on their way out.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2023

Directory assistance in Bethel Park informed her that there were fifty-four entries for “Warren” in the township.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Print directories, legacy media and some traditional retail are other examples he cites.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026

The draft bill excludes online encyclopaedias and educational directories from the ban.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

And Health Net said it would pay $40 million to resolve allegations it used inaccurate provider directories.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025

There is no Jose Bernal listed as a licensed lawyer or paralegal in the State Bar of California or the California Alliance of Paralegal Assn.’s online directories.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2025

Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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Related Words

• almanac
• catalogue
• list
• yellow pages

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