—adj.
1 extending or moving in a straight line or by the shortest route; not crooked or circuitous.
2 a straightforward; going straight to the point. b frank; not ambiguous.
3 without intermediaries or the intervention of other factors (direct rule; the direct result; made a direct approach).
4 (of descent) lineal, not collateral.
5 exact, complete, greatest possible (esp. where contrast is implied) (the direct opposite).
6 Mus. (of an interval or chord) not inverted.
7 Astron. (of planetary etc. motion) proceeding from East to West; not retrograde.
—adv.
1 in a direct way or manner; without an intermediary or intervening factor (dealt with them direct).
2 frankly; without evasion.
3 by a direct route (send it direct to London).
—v.tr.
1 control, guide; govern the movements of.
2 (foll. by to + infin., or that + clause) give a formal order or command to.
3 (foll. by to) a address or give indications for the delivery of (a letter etc.). b tell or show (a person) the way to a destination.
4 (foll. by at, to, towards) a point, aim, or cause (a blow or missile) to move in a certain direction. b point or address (one's attention, a remark, etc.).
5 guide as an adviser, as a principle, etc. (I do as duty directs me).
6 a (also absol.) supervise the performing, staging, etc., of (a film, play, etc.). b supervise the performance of (an actor etc.).
7 (also absol.) guide the performance of (a group of musicians), esp. as a participant.
Phrases and idioms:
direct access the facility of retrieving data immediately from any part of a computer file. direct action action such as a strike or sabotage directly affecting the community and meant to reinforce demands on a government, employer, etc. direct address Computing an address (see ADDRESS n. 1c) which specifies the location of data to be used in an operation. direct current an electric current flowing in one direction only.
Usage:
Abbr.: DC, d.c. direct debit an arrangement for the regular debiting of a bank account at the request of the payee. direct-grant school hist. (in the UK) a school receiving funds from the Government and not from a local authority. direct method a system of teaching a foreign language using only that language and without the study of formal grammar. direct object Gram. the primary object of the action of a transitive verb. direct proportion a relation between quantities whose ratio is constant. direct speech (or oration) words actually spoken, not reported in the third person. direct tax a tax levied on the person who ultimately bears the burden of it, esp. on income.
Derivatives:
directness n.
Etymology: ME f. L directus past part. of dirigere direct- (as DI-(2), regere put straight)
Useful english dictionary. 2012.