Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - direct

 I. verb  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~er, from Latin ~us straight, from past participle of dirigere to ~ — more at dress  Date: 14th century  transitive verb  1.  a. obsolete to write (a letter) to a person  b. to mark with the name and address of the intended recipient  c. to impart orally  d. to adapt in expression so as to have particular applicability a lawyer who ~s his appeals to intelligence  2.  a. to regulate the activities or course of  b. to carry out the organizing, energizing, and supervising of ~ a project  c. to dominate and determine the course of  d. to train and lead performances of ~ a movie  3. to cause to turn, move, or point undeviatingly or to follow a straight course X rays are ~ed through the body  4. to point, extend, or project in a specified line or course ~ the nozzle downward  5. to request or enjoin with authority the judge ~ed the jury to acquit the defendant  6. to show or point out the way for signs ~ing us to the entrance  intransitive verb  1. to point out, prescribe, or determine a course or procedure  2. to act as ~or  Synonyms: see command, conduct  II. adjective  Etymology: Middle English, from Latin ~us  Date: 15th century  1. having or being motion in the general planetary ~ion from west to east ; not retrograde  2.  a. stemming immediately from a source ~ result  b. being or passing in a straight line of descent from parent to offspring ; lineal ~ ancestor  c. having no compromising or impairing element a ~ insult  3.  a. proceeding from one point to another in time or space without deviation or interruption ; straight a ~ line  b. proceeding by the shortest way the ~ route  4. natural, straightforward a ~ manner  5.  a. marked by absence of an intervening agency, instrumentality, or influence making ~ observations of nature  b. effected by the action of the people or the electorate and not by representatives ~ democracy  c. consisting of or reproducing the exact words of a speaker or writer a ~ quotation  6. characterized by close logical, causal, or consequential relationship ~ evidence  7. capable of dyeing without the aid of a mordant  III. adverb  Date: 14th century in a ~ way: as  a. from point to point without deviation ; by the shortest way flew ~ to Miami  b. from the source without interruption or diversion the writer must take his material ~ from life — Douglas Stewart  c. without an intervening agency or step buy ~ from the manufacturer