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

Los Angeles-based real estate company Hudson Pacific Properties Inc. bought it in 2022 for $360 million, saying at the time that the acquisition would help address growing demand for soundstage space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

The company overhauled its original power plans to address local resistance to its idea to use gas turbines and diesel generators, but it has yet to obtain the air permits it needs from the state.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

In his farewell address to the regents that October, he warned against allowing the Smithsonian to become seen as affiliated with one party or ideological bent.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2026

In her address to the convention, Harris did describe the suffering in Gaza as “devastating” and said Palestinians deserved “dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.”

From Slate ● Sep. 25, 2026

I told them what had happened on the Barteljorisstraat and gave them the Amsterdam address.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

President Trump addresses the U.N. this morning amid hopes of a diplomatic solution for the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

This lets you see all the information the agency has about you, including your earnings history and phone numbers or addresses.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

It was not only a confession but a road map, with the email addresses and phone numbers of people Kao thought agents ought to subpoena.

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Utopian stories can provide direction, while dystopian stories can identify dangers and test whether an envisioned future genuinely addresses exclusion, power and conflict.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

She addresses a woman whose aging face is less familiar to Yolanda than the child's facsimile.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Some concerns were addressed, including a bus shelter that was added because of feedback from residents.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026

Sheeran addressed the controversy head-on during the start of his set in Philadelphia last week.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

Meanwhile, Bentley addressed the challenge of luxury-EV sound by getting musicians to imitate the rumble of its V8 engines using traditional Western percussion instruments.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Beyond the discussion of AI issues, other key topics are expected to get addressed:

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

That night, sitting beside a large map of Southeast Asia, Nixon addressed the nation.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin

They felt, too, the superiority of character which addrest all men with a native authority.

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

In earliest Greece, to thee, with partial choice, The grief-full Muse addrest her infant tongue; The maids and matrons, on her awful voice, Silent and pale, in wild amazement hung.

From The Poetical Works of William Collins With a Memoir by William Collins

While she hesitates, the other cardinal, Campeius, thinking himself addrest by a lady, steps forward.

From Inquiries and Opinions by Brander Matthews

They were addrest to the Lady Dorothy Sydney; and certainlie for specious Flatterie I doe not suppose they can be matcht; but there is noe Impress of reall Feeling in them.

From Mary Powell & Deborah's Diary by Anne Manning

And proud to see himself with Triumph blest, Thus to great Absolom himself addrest.

From Anti-Achitophel (1682) Three Verse Replies to Absalom and Achitophel by John Dryden by Harold Whitmore Jones

In the last several months city officials, law enforcement and community groups have taken different approaches to addressing conditions at the park and activating the space.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026

“These rates are often higher in long-term-care facilities such as nursing homes, despite government regulations aimed toward addressing this issue,” the researchers wrote.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Yes, for sure,” the CEO responded, before clarifying that she sees it less in employees because Logitech has been proactive about addressing AI-related job anxieties.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

It was, as the Associated Press put it, “a striking instance of a foreign leader addressing the world body while their country is at war with the host nation.”

From Salon ● Sep. 23, 2026

Even as Ann was addressing the council, a few hundred miles up the eastern seaboard, Newark, New Jersey, was burning.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

Related Words

• ZIP code
• home
• location
• number