directly

UK/dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/US/dɪˈɹɛk(t).li/

adverbB12 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #1,439 of 15,258leans written

Directly means in a straight line, or with nothing coming between. Straight there, and no intermediary.

The physical sense covers position, so directly above or directly opposite. The other sense is about arrangements, since dealing directly with a supplier means cutting out the middleman. There is a manner sense too, and answering directly means giving a plain answer rather than evading. British English has a time sense, since directly can mean very soon, and I shall be there directly is slightly old-fashioned.

Definitions of directly

1adverbdirectlyIn a straight line, or without anything in between.B1~29%
“The window is directly above the door.”
2adverbintermediaryWithout an intermediary.B2~71%
“You can book directly with the hotel.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 14 sentences found in the wild and placed 14 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Where it comes from

Proto-Indo-European
*h₃reǵ-
Latin
dīrēctus
English
direct
English, today
directly

Built from

dīrigō · Latin — straighten, direct
dis- · Latin — asunder, in pieces, apart, in two
regō · Latin — make straight, rule

From direct + -ly. direct Borrowed from Latin dīrēctus, perfect passive participle of dīrigō (“straighten, direct”), from dis- (“asunder, in pieces, apart, in two”) + regō (“make straight, rule”). Compare dress. a doublet of derecho. For the meaning development compare with напра́вить (“to direct, to turn, to aim, to level, to point”), отпра́вить (“to send, to dispatch, to forward”) connected with пра́вить (“to govern, to rule, to drive, to steer”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in A Man Called Ove

First appears in chapter 2 of A Man Called Ove.

Practise this word

directly in the wild

As a result, from the seating area or auditorium, the audience can see directly and clearly into the room.
Fourth wall
When dealers buy works of art, they resell them either in their galleries or directly to collectors.
Art dealer
Another good example for direct finance is a business which directly buys newly issued commercial papers from another business entity.
Direct finance
The party has standing because they will be directly harmed by the conditions for which they are asking the court for relief.
Standing (law)
Oral argument operates by each party in a case taking turns to speak directly to the judge or judges with an equal amount of time allotted to each.
Oral argument

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the regō family

address rule correct

directly — used about once every 156 pages · #1,439 · point at the bar for the others

Definitions of directly

1adverbdirectlyIn a straight line, or without anything in between.B1~29%

“The window is directly above the door.”

2adverbintermediaryWithout an intermediary.B2~71%

“You can book directly with the hotel.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 14 sentences found in the wild and placed 14 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.