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• 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.

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adjective

1. serving to direct; directing; directive.

directory ¹ British  

/ dɪˈrɛktərɪ, daɪ-, -trɪ /

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

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adjective

1. directing

Directory ² British  

/ dɪˈrɛktərɪ, daɪ-, -trɪ /

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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• directories
  plural

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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

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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

I’ve yet to see a law firm’s online people directory featuring cartoon partner portraits, for example.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

No matter, Owen is obsessed with finding her, even if he doesn’t know her last name and there are 318 Emilys in the campus directory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

Fifteen of the 16 affected community council websites were built and operated on a former third sector website directory called Online Borders.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

"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

I wish there were a directory somewhere of all of the kids in the building.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

He was the cat in a Thompson Directory advert and made a series of spots for the DIY chain B&Q. He later described this aspect of his life as one of the most financially lucrative.

From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026

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

The CCW Directory is a resource students and parents can use to search a variety of in-the-classroom and on-the-job experiences that include career and technical education, courses, internships, career fairs, pre-apprenticeships and registered apprenticeships.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 11, 2023

He was 50 years old the last time anyone heard from him, according to the National Missing Person Directory.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2023

Directory of Names books listing the location of everyone on the memorial passed hand to hand.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

To free up space, technical employees routinely cleaned their personal directories with a command like the one above.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026

This could involve searching through insurance directories for practitioners who accept their plans, or waiting weeks or longer to have an initial visit.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026

The draft bill excludes online encyclopaedias and educational directories from the ban.

From Barron's ● Jan. 26, 2026

It said these include "personnel rosters, lists of terrorist training courses, phone directories and salary documents".

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025

Consequently, good names appear on envelopes, on diplomas, in telephone directories, and in all other public places.

From "The Namesake" by Jhumpa Lahiri

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Related Words

• almanac
• catalogue
• list
• yellow pages

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