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to direct

to direct

240 1.6
To tell someone what to do or show them the way
  • verb
  • /dəˈrɛkt/
translation icon : indicar
  • Could you please direct me towards the office?
  • direct teachers
  • direct students
  • direct instruction

Stern words if he didn't direct them to an empty chair.

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Examples

  • The Buyers Guide, within its various product categories, directs you to specific products and services.

    Academic text (2008)
  • Excuse me, ma'am, Can you please direct me to town planning?

  • All we ask is you direct everybody to the show.

  • All right, gentlemen, please direct your attention to the board.

  • How may I direct your call?

  • To find out, please direct your attention to the video screens.

  • I'd like to direct your attention to the trial transcript from the civil case.

  • As you exit the aircraft, our flight agents... will help direct you to any connecting flights.

  • Store personnel will read it too, and can then direct customer inquiries to your club representative.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Could you please direct me to the nearest bus stop?

Synonyms

to tell
vsto direct
1.0

Order someone to do something

is often neutral and can include showing the way or giving steps
to lead
vsto direct
1.0

To go with someone and show them the way to a place

is also used for giving procedural steps or commands
to order
vsto direct
902 1.3

To tell someone to do something in an official way

is broader and includes non commanding showing or giving steps
to guide
vsto direct
313 1.0

To show someone the way by going with them

is broader and also includes giving procedural steps
to instruct
vsto direct
188 2.8

To tell someone to do something, often as an order

is broader and also covers showing the way
to conduct
vsto direct
  • Formal
5 4.3

To lead someone carefully to a place, for example to their seat

is more general and also covers casual showing or giving steps

Antonyms

87 3.9

Make someone believe something that is not true

Phrasal Verbs

To guide cars and people so they move safely through an intersection

To lead actors and decide how a play looks on stage

Compounds

direct evidence
  • Specialized
18 3.2

Proof that clearly shows a fact is true, such as an eyewitness report

11 3.2

Printed ads sent by post to possible customers

direct action
  • Jargon
10 5.5

A protest where people act directly, for example by blocking a road or factory, to reach their goals

5 6.5

A lawyer asking questions of a witness they called before the other side asks questions

direct correlation
  • Specialized
5 4.2

A relationship where two things increase or decrease together

A plane journey between two places that may stop but uses the same plane

A way of sending advertising messages directly to individual customers, for example by email

direct current
  • Specialized
3 3.5

An electric flow that moves steadily in one direction, for example from a battery

direct cost
  • Specialized
2 3.4

A cost you can put on a single project, like materials or wages

2 4.6

Money from a company or person in one country used to buy and control a business in another country

A clear and strong difference between two things

direct tax
  • Specialized
2 4.2

A tax that a person or business pays directly to the government, not added to the price of goods

1 3.5

A loan a lender gives straight to a borrower without a middle person

direct fire
  • Specialized
1 7.7

Shooting at a target you can see with weapons like a tank or rifle

direct proof
  • Specialized
1 6.6

A way to show something is true by using known facts and simple logical steps

The exact words someone said or wrote shown in quotation marks

A person or company that sends ads by mail to sell things

A word or group of words that names people and things and receives the action of a verb

5.5

An engine that sends diesel fuel straight into the part where it burns to use less fuel

A diesel engine that injects fuel directly into the chamber where it burns

A primary election where voters choose candidates instead of party officials

A word that means the exact opposite of another word

direct bill of lading
  • Specialized
8.9

A paper showing the goods stay on the same ship without transfer

direct discourse
  • Specialized
6.3

Repeating the exact words someone said or thought, usually in quote marks

direct dye
  • Specialized
5.4

A dye that colours cotton and similar fabrics without using a fixing chemical

3.6

An electric flow that moves in one direction and does not reverse

direct sum
  • Specialized
8.7

A way of joining two sets or spaces so each new item has one part from each

Fire from guns or artillery that helps one group of soldiers during combat

7.4

Help from one military unit to another that answers the other unit's requests for help

Help given by a company or maker straight to a customer

direct tide
  • Specialized
8.4

A high water level on the side of Earth facing the moon

direct transmission
  • Specialized
3.7

Spread of infection from one person to another when someone touches or coughs on them

direct traffic
  • Texting
3.8

Visits to a website that come from people typing the address or using a bookmark

direct trust
  • Formal
6.7

An arrangement set up by people on purpose, often in writing, to control money and property

8.9

A former UK school that charged fees but accepted some students funded by the local council

A U.S. military kit that turns a regular bomb dropped from a plane into a precise guided bomb

How Direct

to command
307 2.7
to direct
240 1.6
to tell
1.0
to suggest
1.6
to hint
136 2.0

Surface Forms

direct infinitive
directed past
directed past participle
directing present participle
directs third person singular

Etymology

Direct comes from the Latin dirigere, meaning 'to guide straight', and you can see the same idea in direction. So to direct someone is to show them the right way or give clear instructions.