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

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Etymology

Origin of address

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English adressen “to adorn,” from Middle French adresser; see a- ⁵, dress

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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

While slowing development could ding short-term gains, Willette, president of Service Employees International Union 521, argued that ramping up oversight to address Americans’ concerns could yield more sustainable returns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

"We decided to begin negotiations for a free trade agreement, which includes increasing trade and investment, before the end of the year," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a joint address to reporters.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2026

Choudhry also backed calls by the chamber to reduce employers' NI contributions for under-25s, which she said would help address the issue of young people not in education, employment or training.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

By comparison, Major League Baseball games this year typically took 2:45, according to Stats Perform, a dramatic improvement since it introduced the pitch clock to address its pace-of-play crisis in 2023.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Jonah noticed that some of the Winstons’ letters had those yellow forwarding stickers the post office used when people moved, covering an old address with the new one.

From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

It is understood that the news of the closure came via email and those without email addresses were left unaware.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

On Wednesday, New York City Comptroller Mark Levine sent a letter to Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging the company to pause its IPO proceedings until it fully addresses safety and governance issues surrounding AI technology.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said in September that his company will not go public this year as it addresses concerns about the technology's safety.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

The European Commission said the divestment addresses concerns that the deal could hinder competition in Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovakia.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Aunt J addresses Candie but keeps her eyes on Dad.

From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold

Scientists have traditionally addressed this problem by adding stains to create greater contrast.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026

Right now, I think many are prioritizing the more urgent short-term operational challenges because if those don’t get addressed the long-term growth goals are probably moot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

He addressed the issue of coal tip safety in Wales during his visit, saying it was of "critical importance" that the remaining tips in Wales are made safe.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

"That question needs to be addressed, because it's completely false that we no longer need mathematicians."

From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026

Then she addressed the rest of us again.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Then Cæsar addrest himself to his soldiers, when they were at the gates of the camp, ready to march out.

From The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to prose. Volume II (of X) - Rome by Francis W. (Francis Whiting) Halsey

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

The letter here in part given was addrest by Vespucius to Soderini, the Gonfalonier of Florence.

From Great Epochs in American History, Volume I. Voyages Of Discovery And Early Explorations: 1000 A.D.-1682 by Francis W. (Francis Whiting) Halsey

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

A political philosopher he was of keenest insight and of unfailing eloquence; but he was a poor speaker, and he did not often rivet the attention of the audiences he addrest.

From Inquiries and Opinions by Brander Matthews

"Hosting and managing an event of this scale was a major challenge for us, and each day involved addressing a range of unexpected issues and challenges," he said.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

The result: instant gratification for those searching for new business ideas, and a beginner business plan for addressing them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

Instead of simply addressing the threat, they release inflammatory signals that may interfere with normal brain activity.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 19, 2026

Since taking over the World Bank in 2023, the former Mastercard CEO has sketched an ambitious plan to fight poverty by addressing an estimated shortfall in the developing world of 800 million jobs.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

In the hall, as I was waiting for the elevator, someone shook my hand and said, “Goodbye, Mr. James Baldwin. We’ll soon be addressing you as Mr. James X.”

From "The Fire Next Time" by James Baldwin

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