direct

American  

[dih-rekt, dahy-] / dɪˈrɛkt, daɪ- /

verb (used with object)

• directs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• directed,
  past participle,  past
• directing
  present participle

1. to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, instruction, etc..

   He directed the company through a difficult time.

2. to regulate the course of; control.

   History is directed by a small number of great men and women.

3. to administer; manage; supervise.

   She directs the affairs of the estate.

4. to give authoritative instructions to; command; order or ordain.

   I directed him to leave the room.

5. to serve as a director in the production or performance of (a musical work, play, motion picture, etc.).

6. to guide, tell, or show (a person) the way to a place.

   I directed him to the post office.

7. to point, aim, or send toward a place or object.

   to direct radio waves around the globe.

8. to channel or focus toward a given result, object, or end (often followed by to ortoward ).

   She directed all her energies toward the accomplishment of the work.

9. to address (words, a speech, a written report, etc.) to a person or persons.

   The secretary directed his remarks to two of the committee members.

10. to address (a letter, package, etc.) to an intended recipient.

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verb (used without object)

• directs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• directed,
  past participle,  past
• directing
  present participle

1. to act as a guide.

2. to give commands or orders.

3. to serve as the director of a play, film, orchestra, etc.

adjective

1. proceeding in a straight line or by the shortest course; straight; undeviating; not oblique.

   a direct route.

2. proceeding in an unbroken line of descent; lineal rather than collateral.

   a direct descendant.

3. Mathematics.

   1. (of a proportion) containing terms of which an increase (or decrease) in one results in an increase (or decrease) in another: a term is said to be in direct proportion to another term if one increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases).

   2. (of a function) the function itself, in contrast to its inverse.

4. without intervening persons, influences, factors, etc.; immediate; personal.

   direct contact with the voters; direct exposure to a disease.

5. straightforward; frank; candid.

   the direct remarks of a forthright individual.

   Synonyms:

   outspoken, sincere, open

6. absolute; total; exact.

   the direct opposite.

7. consisting exactly of the words originally used; verbatim.

   direct quotation.

8. Government. of or by action of voters, which takes effect without representatives or another intervening agency, as in

9. inevitable; consequential.

   War will be a direct result of such political action.

10. allocated for or arising from a particular known agency, process, job, etc..

    The new machine was listed by the accountant as a direct cost.

11. Electricity. of or relating to direct current.

12. Astronomy.

    1. moving in an orbit in the same direction as the earth in its revolution around the sun.

    2. appearing to move on the celestial sphere in the direction of the natural order of the signs of the zodiac, from west to east.

13. Surveying. (of a telescope) in its normal position; not inverted or transited.

14. (of dye colors) working without the use of a mordant; substantive.

adverb

1. in a direct manner; directly; straight.

   Answer me direct.

direct British  

/ daɪ-, dɪˈrɛkt /

verb

1. to regulate, conduct, or control the affairs of

2. (also intr) to give commands or orders with authority to (a person or group)

   he directed them to go away

3. to tell or show (someone) the way to a place

4. to aim, point, or cause to move towards a goal

5. to address (a letter, parcel, etc)

6. to address (remarks, words, etc)

   to direct comments at someone

7. (also intr) to provide guidance to (actors, cameramen, etc) in the rehearsal of a play or the filming of a motion picture

8. (also intr)

   1. to conduct (a piece of music or musicians), usually while performing oneself

   2. another word (esp US) for conduct

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adjective

1. without delay or evasion; straightforward

   a direct approach

2. without turning aside; uninterrupted; shortest; straight

   a direct route

3. without intervening persons or agencies; immediate

   a direct link

4. honest; frank; candid

   a direct answer

5. (usually prenominal) precise; exact

   a direct quotation

6. diametrical

   the direct opposite

7. in an unbroken line of descent, as from father to son over succeeding generations

   a direct descendant

8. (of government, decisions, etc) by or from the electorate rather than through representatives

9. logic maths (of a proof) progressing from the premises to the conclusion, rather than eliminating the possibility of the falsehood of the conclusion Compare indirect proof

10. astronomy moving from west to east on the celestial sphere Compare retrograde

11. 1. of or relating to direct current

    2. (of a secondary induced current) having the same direction as the primary current

12. music

    1. (of motion) in the same direction See motion

    2. (of an interval or chord) in root position; not inverted

adverb

1. directly; straight

   he went direct to the office

Usage

What are other ways to say direct? To direct is to manage or guide by advice, helpful information, or instruction. How is direct different from conduct, guide, and lead? Find out on Thesaurus.com. 

Synonym Usage

Direct, order, command mean to issue instructions. Direct suggests also giving explanations or advice; the emphasis is not on the authority of the director, but on steps necessary for the accomplishing of a purpose. Order connotes a personal relationship in which one in a superior position imperatively instructs a subordinate to do something. Command, less personal and, often, less specific in detail, suggests greater formality and, sometimes, a more fixed authority on the part of the superior.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• directness
  noun
• semidirectness
  noun
• predirect
  verb (used with object)
• directable
  adjective
• self-directing
  adjective
• semidirect
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• directing
  present
• directed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• direct
  simple
• directs
  simple
• have directed
  perfect
• has directed
  perfect
• am directing
  progressive
• are directing
  progressive
• is directing
  progressive
• have been directing
  perfect progressive
• has been directing
  perfect progressive

Past

• directed
  simple
• had directed
  perfect
• was directing
  progressive
• were directing
  progressive
• had been directing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will direct
  simple
• will have directed
  perfect
• will be directing
  progressive
• will have been directing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of direct

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English directen (verb) (from Anglo-French ), from Latin dīrēctus, past participle of dīrigere “to align, straighten, guide” (equivalent to dis-, dī- + -rigere, combining form of regere “to guide, rule”); see origin at di- ²

Explanation

If you direct somebody, you tell them where to go or what to do. You can also direct a play or direct someone to a gas station, by telling them what roads to take. Most uses of direct involving giving orders. Army officers direct battles, which means they plan what to do and how to carry it out. You can direct a kick toward the goal, which means you send the ball flying toward the net. When used as an adjective, direct often means to the point with no beating around the bush. If someone is direct, it means they say what they mean; if a plant is in direct sunlight, it gets a lot of sun.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

direct directs directed directing

If a unity candidate is found to oppose him, then the election would become a direct battle.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

United Parcel Service’s delivery drivers, on the other hand, are direct employees of UPS and members of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

A whole fish split open direct from the grill.

From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2026

Mazza said that Nvidia’s $4 billion combined investment into two of its optical suppliers, Coherent and Lumentum, is direct evidence that demand has outrun supply.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Even though it happened so many years ago and so far away, our school has a direct connection to the Holocaust!

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

He directs Attorney General Todd Blanche to challenge state laws that conflict with “parental authority, religious freedom, disability accommodations, and equal protection under the law.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

A metacrystal that directs light along more stable pathways could help prevent some of that energy from being lost.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

That’s leading to the rise of model routing — a technique that directs queries to the most suitable AI model.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026

Wat directs them to leave immediately but Max starts to argue about the exit plan and soon enough those crazy kids are on their own.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026

Faith directs me to lie down and tells me that for our first session she’s only going to leave the needles in for ten minutes.

From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass

In his view, that money could “be better directed to a stock that trades at significantly depressed valuation.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 11, 2026

Sir David said: "When you think about antisemitism, you assume that it's going to be directed towards adults… What's been quite shocking is the extent to which antisemitism is encountered by children and young people."

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

News of the pregnancy — and the couple’s relationship — surfaced a year after the death of Plaza’s husband, Jeff Baena, an independent filmmaker who directed her in the 2017 comedy “The Little Hours.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

Lee Kirk wrote and directed this coming-of-age film starring Mason Thames, Jenna Fischer, Mckenna Grace, Angela Kinsey and Fred Armisen, which was also produced by three members of Green Day.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Even though she was smiling, her voice had a combination of strain and relief that Coal had heard in other mothers’ voices, but never directed toward himself.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

“Just seeing the response to Gaby. A lot of that is amazing writing, directing and an amazing crew, but it’s also my instincts.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The receptionist handed him a key before directing him upstairs to Lucy's room, she said.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

That natural preference can prevent researchers from directing reactions toward other potentially useful pathways.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

Since his career began, Kelly had been pushing cine-dance forward, directing his first sequence and experimenting with double exposure in the “Alter Ego” dance for the 1944 film “Cover Girl.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

They followed the signs directing them toward baggage claim.

From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai

Related Words

• address
• aim
• cast
• conduct
• focus
• head
• intend
• lead
• mean
• present
• see
• set
• show
• steer
• target
• train
• turn