direction

[dih-rek-shuh n, dahy-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR direction ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the act or an instance of directing.

the line along which anything lies, faces, moves, etc., with reference to the point or region toward which it is directed: The storm moved in a northerly direction.

the point or region itself: The direction is north.

a position on a line extending from a specific point toward a point of the compass or toward the nadir or the zenith.

a line of thought or action or a tendency or inclination: the direction of contemporary thought.

Usually directions. instruction or guidance for making, using, etc.: directions for baking a cake.

order; command.

management; control; guidance; supervision: a company under good direction.

a directorate.

the name and address of the intended recipient as written on a letter, package, etc.

decisions in a stage or film production as to stage business, speaking of lines, lighting, and general presentation.

the technique, act, or business of making such decisions, managing and training a cast of actors, etc.

the technique, act, or business of directing an orchestra, concert, or other musical presentation or group.

Music. a symbol or phrase that indicates in a score the proper tempo, style of performance, mood, etc.

a purpose or orientation toward a goal that serves to guide or motivate; focus: He doesn't seem to have any direction in life.

Origin of direction

1375–1425; late Middle English direccioun (< Middle French) < Latin dīrēctiōn- (stem of dīrēctiō) “arranging in line, straightening.” See direct, -ion

Related formsdi·rec·tion·less, adjectivepre·di·rec·tion, nounself-di·rec·tion, nounsu·per·di·rec·tion, noun

Synonym study

5. See tendency.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for direction

control, guidance, leadership, order, outlook, angle, orientation, area, trend, aspect, way, objective, path, line, government, administration, supervision, charge, command, oversight

Examples from the Web for direction

Contemporary Examples of direction

Pleasure shoots magically in every direction like an explosion of sparks.
‘A Gronking to Remember’ Speed Read: 8 Naughtiest Bits
Emily Shire
January 7, 2015
Absent a body, no one can say with absolute certainty whether Castro is dead, even if all signs point in that direction.
An Informant, a Missing American, and Juarez’s House of Death: Inside the 12-Year Cold Case of David Castro
Bill Conroy
January 6, 2015
An arrow appears indicating the direction you will launch your ball.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art
Alec Kubas-Meyer
January 2, 2015
The ATSB has been impressive in the way it has taken over the direction of the search for Flight 370.
Who Will Get AsiaAir 8501’s Black Boxes?
Clive Irving
December 30, 2014
Stay anywhere long enough and every direction eventually leads you toward a pawnshop of your life.
The Life and Hard Times Of The Family A Cuban Defector Left Behind
Brin-Jonathan Butler
December 19, 2014

Historical Examples of direction

The true remedy is not to be sought in that direction in the one case any more than the other.
'Tis Sixty Years Since
Charles Francis Adams
The view was very extensive but not promising--spinifex being in every direction.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
Spinifex in every direction, and the country very miserable and unpromising.
Explorations in Australia
John Forrest
It seemed to come from the direction of Malbone's room, which was in the third story.
Malbone
Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Your aunt has been forced to engage not to interfere but by your father's direction.
Clarissa, Volume 1 (of 9)
Samuel Richardson

British Dictionary definitions for direction

direction

noun

the act of directing or the state of being directed

management, control, or guidance

the work of a stage or film director

the course or line along which a person or thing moves, points, or lies

the course along which a ship, aircraft, etc, is travelling, expressed as the angle between true or magnetic north and an imaginary line through the main fore-and-aft axis of the vessel

the place towards which a person or thing is directed

a line of action; course

the name and address on a letter, parcel, etc

music the process of conducting an orchestra, choir, etc

music an instruction in the form of a word or symbol heading or occurring in the body of a passage, movement, or piece to indicate tempo, dynamics, mood, etc

(modifier) maths

(of an angle) being any one of the three angles that a line in space makes with the three positive directions of the coordinate axes. Usually given as α, β, and γ with respect to the x-, y-, and z- axes
(of a cosine) being the cosine of any of the direction angles

direction

see step in the right direction.