address

American  

[uh-dres, ad-res, uh-dres] / əˈdrɛs, ˈæd rɛs, əˈdrɛs /

noun

• addresses
  plural

1. a speech or written statement, usually formal, directed to a particular group of persons.

   the president's address on the state of the economy.

   Synonyms:

   lecture, discourse

2. a direction as to the intended recipient, written on or attached to a piece of mail.

3. the place or the name of the place where a person, organization, or the like is located or may be reached.

   What is your address when you're in Des Moines?

4. manner of speaking to persons; personal bearing in conversation.

5. skillful and expeditious management; ready skill; dispatch.

   to handle a matter with address.

   Synonyms:

   tact, ingenuity, cleverness, adroitness

6. Computers.

   1. a label, as an integer, symbol, or other set of characters, designating a location, register, etc., where information is stored in computer memory.

   2. a set of characters designating an email account.

      Her email address ends in “.net,” not “.com.”

   3. a set of characters designating the location of a website or a particular computer or other device on a network.

      He visits that website so often that its complete address comes up whenever he types its first letter into the address bar.

7. Government. a request to the executive by the legislature to remove a judge for unfitness.

8. Usually addresses. attentions paid by a suitor or lover; courtship.

9. Usually Address. the reply to the king's speech in the English Parliament.

10. Obsolete. preparation.

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verb (used with object)

• addresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• addressed,
  past participle,  past
• addrest,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• addressing
  present participle

1. to direct a speech or written statement to.

   to address an assembly.

2. to use a specified form or title in speaking or writing to.

   Address the president as “Mr. President.”

3. to direct to the attention.

   He addressed his remarks to the lawyers in the audience.

4. to apply in speech (used reflexively, usually followed byto ).

   He addressed himself to the leader.

5. to deal with or discuss.

   to address the issues.

6. to put the directions for delivery on.

   to address a letter.

7. Commerce. to consign or entrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.

8. to direct the energy or efforts of (usually followed byto ).

   He addressed himself to the task.

9. Computers. to direct (data) to a specified memory location in a computer.

10. Golf. to take a stance and place the head of the club behind (the ball) preparatory to hitting it.

11. Obsolete. to woo; court.

12. Archaic. to give direction to; aim.

13. Obsolete. to prepare.

verb (used without object)

Obsolete.

• addresses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• addressed,
  past participle,  past
• addrest,
  past participle,  past (Archaic)
• addressing
  present participle

1. to make an appeal.

2. to make preparations.

address British  

/ əˈdrɛs /

noun

1. the conventional form by which the location of a building is described

2. the written form of this, as on a letter or parcel, preceded by the name of the person or organization for whom it is intended

3. the place at which someone lives

4. a speech or written communication, esp one of a formal nature

5. skilfulness or tact

6. archaic manner or style of speaking or conversation

7. computing a number giving the location of a piece of stored information See also direct access

8. government a statement of the opinions or wishes of either or both Houses of Parliament that is sent to the sovereign

9. the alignment or position of a part, component, etc, that permits correct assembly or fitting

10. (usually plural) expressions of affection made by a man in courting a woman

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verb

1. to mark (a letter, parcel, etc) with an address

2. to speak to, refer to in speaking, or deliver a speech to

3. (used reflexively; foll by to)

   1. to speak or write to

      he addressed himself to the chairman

   2. to apply oneself to

      he addressed himself to the task

4. to direct (a message, warning, etc) to the attention of

5. to consign or entrust (a ship or a ship's cargo) to a factor, merchant, etc

6. to adopt a position facing (the ball in golf, a partner in a dance, the target in archery, etc)

7. to treat of; deal with

   chapter 10 addresses the problem of transitivity

8. an archaic word for woo

Synonym Usage

See speech.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• addresser
  noun
• addressor
  noun
• preaddress
  noun
• readdress
  verb (used with object)
• half-addressed
  adjective
• unaddressed
  adjective
• well-addressed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• addresses
  plural

Participles

• addressing
  present
• addressed
  past
• addrest
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• address
  simple
• addresses
  simple
• have addressed
  perfect
• have addrest
  perfect
• has addressed
  perfect
• has addrest
  perfect
• am addressing
  progressive
• are addressing
  progressive
• is addressing
  progressive
• have been addressing
  perfect progressive
• has been addressing
  perfect progressive

Past

• addressed
  simple
• addrest
  simple
• had addressed
  perfect
• had addrest
  perfect
• was addressing
  progressive
• were addressing
  progressive
• had been addressing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will address
  simple
• will have addressed
  perfect
• will have addrest
  perfect
• will be addressing
  progressive
• will have been addressing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of address

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English adressen “to adorn,” from Middle French adresser; see a- ⁵, dress

Explanation

When you are a student and you want to address your teacher, it's generally safer to call her Ms. and not address her by her first name, Esmeralda. Address is a word that's long been associated with correspondence — the street number, city, state, and postal code that must be on the front of any envelope if it's going to arrive at its destination. In the digital age, an address has also come to mean the location where you might e-mail your friend pictures of your dog dressed up in a birthday hat. If you wanted to tell that friend about your dog's birthday party in person, you might address her directly. Address to describe a way of speaking is usually reserved for more formal occasions, such as when the President addresses the nation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

address addresses addressed addrest addressing

I did not know what to type into the address bar of my browser.

From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026

Applicants will have to register with the secretary of state, document a threat within the past year and receive a substitute address that government agencies must generally accept.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026

Canadian negotiators had been camped out in Washington this week to firm up a deal that aimed to address various flash points.

From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026

They think these issues are fairly easily to address and the latest update seems to have pushed the game in the right direction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Her application listed her name, Oleksandra Wojcik, her age, nineteen, her address in a working-class suburb.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

Even accounts created in a "Kids Mode" intended for users younger than 13 gathered email addresses and other personal information, the suit claimed.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

People signed up their pets, used aliases and played games with mailing addresses to bilk the company out of new releases for less than the cost of a penny.

From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2026

Foster said the new work also addresses a theoretical problem that researchers have struggled with for years.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026

The union countered that “deidentification addresses whether a record can be traced to a named individual. It does not address whether the contents of the record are confidential.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

“Didn’t you hear what Zik said the other day? Eastern Nigeria seethes, seethes, and will continue to seethe until the federal government addresses the massacres,” Professor Ezeka said, his hoarse voice quickly fading.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace said Friday its members also voted to allow the union’s negotiation team to authorize a strike until its concerns are addressed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

In information published by Shein in July after a Hong Kong listing hearing— seen as a crucial stepping stone toward an IPO — the company addressed the so-called de minimis exemption.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026

Beong-Soo Kim, the university’s 13th president, acknowledged the bittersweet mood as he addressed Trojans and their families.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

They also addressed the issue of cross-border haze, forest fires and river contamination, with the Thai general presenting his counterpart with air quality monitoring devices, according to a statement from the Thai military.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Even Paul Marshall, Bobby’s lawyer, addressed Bobby’s “dread”: “Bobby fears the unknown, whatever lies beyond his control. He tries to eliminate any element of chance from his life and his chess.”

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Altho addrest to the treasurer, it was intended for the eyes of the King himself, and for those of his queen, Isabella.

From Great Epochs in American History, Volume I. Voyages Of Discovery And Early Explorations: 1000 A.D.-1682 by Francis W. (Francis Whiting) Halsey

When I had once addrest your Lordship in public, I had exhausted all the art of pleasing which a retired and uncourtly scholar can possess.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. IV (of X)—Great Britain and Ireland II by Henry Cabot Lodge

At his cuming to facland he learnit that his Matie was a huntting, quhair eftir brekfast he addrest him self. 

From James VI and the Gowrie Mystery by Andrew Lang

The bishop, finding his entreaties useless, rose and addrest himself to his melancholy mission.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. IX (of X) - America - I by Henry Cabot Lodge

Dearest Heinrich,—The envelope in which this letter goes was addrest in Cambridge, Mass., and expected to go towards you with a letter in it, long before now.

From The Letters of William James, Vol. II by William James

"The parties agreed to establish a mechanism tasked with reviewing progress and addressing challenges in implementation of obligations and commitments under the Doha Framework Agreement," the statement added, referring to the 2025 deal.

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

But addressing the hoax while on a visit to the central English city of Wolverhampton, Burnham said nothing sensitive had been discussed in the messages.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

In the early stages of dementia, addressing your estate plans as soon as possible is important.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 17, 2026

Before addressing that question, however, they first needed to determine whether immune cells from the blood truly could replenish microglia in the brain.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 14, 2026

She thought just to sweep away, but the shock of his addressing her directly was lost in that intriguing question.

From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman

Related Words

• ZIP code
• home
• location
• number