Adjacent Words

Direction definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DIRECTION, n. [L.]
1. Aim at a certain point; a pointing towards, in a straight line or course; as, the direction of good works to a good end.
2. The line in which a body moves by impulse; course. Matter or body cannot alter the direction of its own motion.
3. A straight line or course. A star appeared int eh direction of a certain tower. The ship sailed in a south-easterly direction.
4. The act of governing; administration; management; guidance; superintendence; as the direction of public affairs; direction of domestic concerns; the direction of a bank.
5. Regularity; adjustment.
All chance, direction which thou canst not see.
6. Order; prescription; either verbal or written; instruction in what manner to proceed. The employer gives directions to his workmen; the physician, to his patient.
7. The superscription of a letter, including the name, title and place of abode of the person for whom it is intended.
8. A body or board of directors.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a line leading to a place or point; "he looked the other direction"; "didn't know the way home" [syn: direction, way]
2: the spatial relation between something and the course along which it points or moves; "he checked the direction and velocity of the wind"
3: a general course along which something has a tendency to develop; "I couldn't follow the direction of his thoughts"; "his ideals determined the direction of his career"; "they proposed a new direction for the firm"
4: something that provides direction or advice as to a decision or course of action [syn: guidance, counsel, counseling, counselling, direction]
5: the act of managing something; "he was given overall management of the program"; "is the direction of the economy a function of government?" [syn: management, direction]
6: a message describing how something is to be done; "he gave directions faster than she could follow them" [syn: direction, instruction]
7: the act of setting and holding a course; "a new council was installed under the direction of the king" [syn: steering, guidance, direction]
8: a formal statement of a command or injunction to do something; "the judge's charge to the jury" [syn: commission, charge, direction]
9: the concentration of attention or energy on something; "the focus of activity shifted to molecular biology"; "he had no direction in his life" [syn: focus, focusing, focussing, focal point, direction, centering]

Merriam Webster's

noun Date: 15th century 1. guidance or supervision of action or conduct ; management 2. archaic superscription 3. a. an explicit instruction ; order b. assistance in pointing out the proper route — usually used in plural <asked for directions to the beach> 4. the line or course on which something is moving or is aimed to move or along which something is pointing or facing 5. archaic directorate 1 6. a. a channel or direct course of thought or action b. tendency, trend c. a guiding, governing, or motivating purpose 7. a. the art and technique of directing an orchestra, band, or a show (as for stage or screen) b. a word, phrase, or sign indicating the appropriate tempo, mood, or intensity of a passage or movement in music • directionless adjective • directionlessness noun

U.S. Military Dictionary

In artillery and naval gunfire support, a term used by a spotter and/or observer in a call for fire to indicate the bearing of the spotting line. See also bearing; call for fire; naval gunfire support; spotter; spotting line. (JP 2-0)

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 the act or process of directing; supervision. 2 (usu. in pl.) an order or instruction, esp. each of a set guiding use of equipment etc. 3 a the course or line along which a person or thing moves or looks, or which must be taken to reach a destination (sailed in an easterly direction). b (in pl.) guidance on how to reach a destination. c the point to or from which a person or thing moves or looks. 4 the tendency or scope of a theme, subject, or inquiry. Phrases and idioms: direction-finder a device for determining the source of radio waves, esp. as an aid in navigation. Derivatives: directionless adj. Etymology: ME f. F direction or L directio (as DIRECT)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Direction Di*rec"tion, n. [L. directio: cf. F. direction.] 1. The act of directing, of aiming, regulating, guiding, or ordering; guidance; management; superintendence; administration; as, the direction o? public affairs or of a bank. I do commit his youth To your direction. --Shak. All nature is but art, unknown to thee; ll chance, direction, which thou canst not see. --Pope. 2. That which is imposed by directing; a guiding or authoritative instruction; prescription; order; command; as, he grave directions to the servants. The princes digged the well . . . by the direction of the law giver. --Numb. xxi. 18. 3. The name and residence of a person to whom any thing is sent, written upon the thing sent; superscription; address; as, the direction of a letter. 4. The line or course upon which anything is moving or aimed to move, or in which anything is lying or pointing; aim; line or point of tendency; direct line or course; as, the ship sailed in a southeasterly direction. 5. The body of managers of a corporation or enterprise; board of directors. 6. (Gun.) The pointing of a piece with reference to an imaginary vertical axis; -- distinguished from elevation. The direction is given when the plane of sight passes through the object. --Wilhelm. Syn: Administration; guidance; management; superintendence; oversight; government; order; command; guide; clew. Usage: Direction, Control, Command, Order. These words, as here compared, have reference to the exercise of power over the actions of others. Control is negative, denoting power to restrain; command is positive, implying a right to enforce obedience; directions are commands containing instructions how to act. Order conveys more prominently the idea of authority than the word direction. A shipmaster has the command of his vessel; he gives orders or directions to the seamen as to the mode of sailing it; and exercises a due control over the passengers.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(directions) Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English. 1. A direction is the general line that someone or something is moving or pointing in. St Andrews was ten miles in the opposite direction... He drove off in the direction of Larry's shop... The instruments will register every change of direction or height. N-VAR: usu with supp 2. A direction is the general way in which something develops or progresses. They threatened to walk out if the party did not change direction... N-VAR: usu with supp 3. Directions are instructions that tell you what to do, how to do something, or how to get somewhere. I should know by now not to throw away the directions until we've finished cooking... N-PLURAL: with supp 4. The direction of a film, play, or television programme is the work that the director does while it is being made. His failures underline the difference between theatre and film direction. 5. see also direct

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Aim. 2. Tendency, line of motion. 3. Course, bearing, point of compass. 4. Management, oversight, superintendence, government, control, conduct. 5. Guidance, lead. 6. Order, command, prescription. 7. Address, superscription.

Moby Thesaurus

Zeitgeist, action, actuation, address, administering, administration, admonition, advice, advising, advocacy, agency, angle, animation, arrow, avenue, bearing, billhead, blaze, briefing, catechization, caution, caveat, charge, civil government, coaching, command, commission, compass needle, conduct, conducting, consultation, control, council, counsel, course, current, destination, dictate, didactics, directing, direction post, directions, directive, directorate, directorship, discipline, dispensation, disposition, dress rehearsal, drift, driving, edification, education, empery, empire, enlightenment, execution, exercise, exhortation, expostulation, final instructions, finger post, fist, form of government, functioning, general orders, glacial movement, governance, governing, government, guidance, guide, guideboard, guidepost, guiding, hand, handling, hortation, hour hand, idea, illumination, index, index finger, influence, information, injunction, inner-direction, instruction, instructions, lead, leadership, letterhead, line, lubber line, main current, mainstream, management, managing, manipulation, milepost, minute hand, mise-en-scene, monition, motion, motivation, mounting, movement, moving, name and address, needle, occupation, operancy, operating, operation, opinion, order, orders, other-direction, outlook, oversight, parley, pedagogics, pedagogy, performance, performing, pointer, pointing, political organization, polity, postal zone, practice, precept, prescript, prescription, private teaching, production, programmed instruction, prompting, proposal, recommendation, reeducation, regime, regimen, regnancy, regulation, rehearsal, reign, remonstrance, responsibility, road, route, rule, run, run-through, running, schooling, self-instruction, self-teaching, set, side, signboard, signpost, slant, sovereignty, spoon-feeding, stage management, staging, standpoint, steering, stimulation, stream, suggestion, superscription, supervising, supervision, sway, swing, system of government, teaching, tenor, the general tendency, the main course, thought, time spirit, tone, trend, tuition, tutelage, tutorage, tutoring, tutorship, walk-through, warning, way, work, working, workings, zip code, zone