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

For years, tourists flocked to the premier address at 7th and Flower streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

The highlight of Rubio's visit is set to be his address from the Pnyx, a hill near the Acropolis that is the parliamentary assembly of ancient Athenian democracy.

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

Cuomo, in turn, proposed closing the loophole in his 2020 “state of the state” address.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

With a thick beard and wearing a grey sweatshirt and trousers, he spoke only to confirm his address in Rotherham and his date of birth.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

“We sent them with one of my parakeet messengers, but they came back unopened. You weren’t at the old address anymore. By then, she’d already gone to the Forever Gardens.”

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

The new approach addresses that limitation in two ways.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

Two people were arrested at addresses in London this morning on suspicion of fraud and immigration offences, with Home Office officers also seizing phones, jewellery and thousands of pounds in cash.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

We used our names and news organization email addresses, following each state’s rules for starting private or microschools, a type of private school intended for just a few students.

From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2026

"This support addresses the most significant current gap in Ukraine's air defence system. The impact is expected to be rapid and tangible," a source said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026

Notably, there isn’t a chair in the study left for me, so I’m forced to stand between my parents as Father Masego addresses them again.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

But he also said the AI Act requires developers "to have addressed" safety risks by the time a model reaches the market, noting that recent incidents including with OpenAI agents happened during testing.

From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026

"Please raise any concerns directly with the nursery or the relevant authorities so that they can be properly addressed."

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

U.S. air-safety regulators had convened an internal panel to decide whether the problem amounted to an unsafe condition that needed to be addressed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Egan-Jones addressed effects on venture capital, pointing out that startups can reach scale faster with less money, so those firms will ultimately lose leverage and see returns compress.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 2, 2026

Mrs. Kuen finally broke the strained silence and addressed me in Cantonese.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

Anything like a telegraphic dispatch or express box or the like should be addrest 456 Sixth street, 3rd story, back room.

From The Wound Dresser A Series of Letters Written from the Hospitals in Washington during the War of the Rebellion by Walt Whitman

So I saw that when they awoke, they addrest themselves to go up to the city.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume III (of X) - Great Britain and Ireland I by Francis W. (Francis Whiting) Halsey

A political philosopher he was of keenest insight and of unfailing eloquence; but he was a poor speaker, and he did not often rivet the attention of the audiences he addrest.

From Inquiries and Opinions by Brander Matthews

More blood was spilt, more honours were addrest, Than could have gracèd any happy feast; Rich banquets, triumphs, every pomp employs100 His sumptuous hand; no miser's nuptial joys.

From The Works of Christopher Marlowe, Vol. 3 (of 3) by A. H. (Arthur Henry) Bullen

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

Alito gave a long interview to CBS News legal correspondent Jan Crawford, addressing a wide range of issues.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2026

The findings, published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could provide researchers with another tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing climate change, Stylianou said.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 4, 2026

Priorities: Buelna said his priorities include addressing student affordability, better connecting education to economic opportunity and “removing barriers to access and completion.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

"Expanding tagging programmes without addressing their weaknesses risks overpromising and underdelivering on public protection," he added.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

Duane replied, neither addressing the caribou nor even looking in her direction.

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• ZIP code
• home
• location
• number