Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English - direct

~1 adj 1 »WITHOUT ANYTHING BETWEEN« done without any other people, actions, processes etc coming between  (Can we have direct access to the information on file? | She has direct control over the business. | I'm not in direct contact with them.) 2 »FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER« going straight from one place to another without stopping or changing direction  (Which is the most direct route to London? | We can get a direct flight to New York.) 3 »EFFECT« likely to change something immediately  (The change in the law will have a direct bearing on the way benefits are calculated.) 4 »EXACT« only before noun exact or total  (Weight increases in direct proportion to mass. | These ideas are in direct contrast with the themes of her earlier essays. | direct quote (=what someone said in their exact words)) 5 »BEHAVIOUR/ATTITUDE« saying exactly what you mean in an honest clear way  (If only she'd been less direct in her approach, he might have helped.) 6 direct descendant someone who is related to someone else through their parents and grandparents, not through their aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters etc  (She claimed to be a direct descendant of Wordsworth.) 7 direct result/consequence something that happens only because of one particular thing  (They were suffering from stress, and their physical symptoms were a direct result.) 8 direct question/answer a question that asks for information exactly and specifically, with no possibility of misunderstanding, or an answer that gives information in this way  (Now, let me ask you a direct question, and I expect a direct answer.) 9 direct heat/sunlight strong heat or sunlight that someone or something is not protected from  (Never change the film in direct sunlight.)  (- opposite indirect) ~2 v 1 »AIM« always + adv/prep to aim something in a particular direction or at a particular person, group etc + at/towards/away from etc  (The machine directs an X-ray beam at the patient's body. | For once her sarcasm was not directed at us. | Environmental policy was traditionally directed at pollution control.) direct your efforts towards sth (=try hard to do one particular thing)  (I want to direct my efforts more towards my own projects. | direct your attention towards sth)  (None of them had ever directed serious attention to the problem.) 2 »BE IN CHARGE« to be in charge of something or control it  (Stella had been asked to direct a research project.) 3 to tell someone how to get to a place  (A policeman stood in the middle of the road, directing the traffic.)  (Could you direct me to Trafalgar Square, please?)  (- see lead1) 4 formal to tell someone what they should do  (We were directed to hand over our passports. | direct that)  (Judge Rice directed that a verdict of `not guilty' be entered.) 5 »ACTING« to give the actors in a play, film, or television programme instructions about what they should do  (Who directed that movie we saw last week?) ~3 adv 1 without stopping or changing direction  (Can we fly direct to Chicago, or do we stop in Salt Lake City first?) 2 without dealing with anyone else first  (Esther decided to contact the manager direct. | It is usually cheaper to buy the goods direct from the wholesaler.)