v. 1
To manage, control, steer.
to direct the affairs of a nation or the movements of an army
v. 2
To aim (something) at (something else).
He directed his question to the room in general.
adj. 1
Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous.
adv. 1
Directly.

Related words

Word family: directness direct-to-consumer directability directrix direction directly director dirge
Phrases: direct product direct activist direct access direct broadcast satellite direct case direct coupling direct democracy direct descendant

Forms

Past participle: directed
e.g. directed → conducted, pointed, leaded, headed…

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

3 letters: aim¹, bid¹
4 letters: take¹, show¹, head¹, open², turn¹, lead¹, send¹, rule¹, boss¹, cast¹, sway¹
5 letters: right¹, place¹, point¹, order², level², short¹, clear¹, focus², train¹, guide¹, apply², frank¹, teach¹, refer²
6 letters: simple², charge¹, target², square¹, manage², linear³, candid², lineal³, enjoin², charre
7 letters: through¹, control², address², primary³, require³, command², express², conduct², sincere², appoint², dictate², frontal²
8 letters: straight¹, directly³, engineer³, organize³, explicit³, regulate³, organise, instruct², verbatim³
9 letters: immediate⁴, calculate³, prescribe², outspoken³, supervise³, proximate³
10 letters: administer⁴, forthright², unswerving³, unmediated
11 letters: unqualified⁴, unambiguous⁵, orchestrate³, unvarnished³, rectilinear

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (open² = 2 syllables).