Jump To:

• 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.

---

adjective

1. serving to direct; directing; directive.

directory ¹ British  

/ dɪˈrɛktərɪ, -trɪ, daɪ- /

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

---

adjective

1. directing

Directory ² British  

/ -trɪ, dɪˈrɛktərɪ, daɪ- /

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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• directories
  plural

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

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

"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

You can start with the IRS directory of credentialed professionals.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 1, 2026

“Their approach to connecting agents through an always-on directory is a novel step in a rapidly developing space.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

However, Sherborne produced emails in court indicating the Mail newspapers had provided access to the electoral roll and phone directory for journalists' research.

From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2026

A search through the directory turned up nothing, and I was empty-handed until I visited the town library in Suffolk and a librarian handed me a slip of paper with a phone number on it.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

The annual Catholic Directory for Scotland reported that the average weekly Mass attendance in 1997 was 235,613.

From BBC ● May 7, 2025

Organizations like the Climate-Aware Therapist Directory and the American Psychiatric Assn. have put together an increasing number of guides and resources to help more people understand how climate change has affected our emotional well-being.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2024

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

This is because I have nobody I need to telephone but sometimes Mum makes me call the Directory Enquiries number as she says I need the practice.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

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

UnitedHealth said “the information in our provider directories is only as good as the information we receive from the providers,” and that the accuracy of such directories is a common problem in the industry.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 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

Authorities in Alaska contacted law-enforcement agencies in that state, who in turn started combing phone directories for McCandlesses.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• almanac
• catalogue
• list
• yellow pages