Address

Pronunciation

• Noun:
• RP enPR: É™drÄ•sʹ, IPA: /É™.ˈdɹɛs/
• Rhymes: -É›s
• US enPR: É™drÄ•sʹ, IPA: /É™.ˈdɹɛs/, /ˈæd.ɹɛs/
• Verb:
• UK enPR: É™drÄ•sʹ, IPA: /É™.ˈdɹɛs/

Origin

From Middle English adressen ("to raise erect, adorn"), from Old French adrecier ("to straighten, address") (modern French adresser), from a- (Latin ad ("to")) + drecier (modern French dresser ("to straighten, arrange")) < Vulgar Latin *directiāre, from Latin directus ("straight or right"), from the verb dīrigĕre, itself from regĕre ("to govern, to rule").

Full definition of address

Noun

1. Direction or superscription of a letter, or the name, title, and place of residence of the person addressed.
2. Act of addressing oneself to a person; a discourse or speech.
• 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, A Study in Scarlet, VII:Mr. Gregson, who had listened to this address with considerable impatience, could contain himself no longer.
3. Manner of speaking to another; delivery.
   a man of pleasing or insinuating address
4. Attention in the way one addresses a lady.
• Joseph Addison.
5. Skill; skillful management; dexterity; adroitness.
• 1813, "Customs, Manners, and present Appearance of Constantinople", The New Annual Register, or General Repository of History, Politics, and Literature for the year 1812, p. 179 (Google preview):At their turning-lathes, they employ their toes to guide the chisel; and, in these pedipulations, shew to Europeans a diverting degree of address.
6. (obsolete) Act of preparing oneself.
7. A description of the location of a property.
• 2013-06-14, Jonathan Freedland, Obama's once hip brand is now tainted, Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet. Perhaps we assume that our name, address and search preferences will be viewed by some unseen pair of corporate eyes, probably not human, and don't mind that much.
8. the President's address is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C.
9. (by extension) The property itself.
   I went to his address but there was nobody there
10. (computing) A location in computer memory.
    The program will crash if there is no valid data stored at that address.
11. (Internet) An Internet address; URL.

Derived terms

• subaddress, subaddressing

Synonyms

Verb

1. (intransitive, obsolete) To prepare oneself.
• unknown date, William ShakespeareLet us address to tend on Hector's heels.
2. (intransitive, obsolete) To direct speech.
• unknown date, John DrydenYoung Turnus to the beauteous maid addrest.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To aim; to direct.
• unknown date, Edmund SpenserAnd this good knight his way with me addrest.
4. (transitive, obsolete) To prepare or make ready.
• unknown date, Edmund SpenserHis foe was soon addressed.
• unknown date, John DrydenTurnus addressed his men to single fight.
• unknown date, Jeremy TaylorThe five foolish virgins addressed themselves at the noise of the bridegroom's coming.
5. (transitive, reflexive) To prepare oneself; to apply one's skill or energies (to some object); to betake.
• unknown date Thomas Babington MacaulayThese men addressed themselves to the task.
• 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick,... good heavens! dumplings for supper! One young fellow in a green box coat, addressed himself to these dumplings in a most direful manner.
6. (transitive, archaic) To clothe or array; to dress.
• unknown date JewelTecla ... addressed herself in man's apparel.
7. (transitive) To direct, as words (to any one or any thing); to make, as a speech, petition, etc. (to any one, an audience).
• unknown date John Dryden''The young hero had addressed his players to him for his assistance.
8. He addressed some portions of his remarks to his supporters, some to his opponents.
9. (transitive) To direct speech to; to make a communication to, whether spoken or written; to apply to by words, as by a speech, petition, etc., to speak to; to accost.
• unknown date Joseph AddisonAre not your orders to address the senate?
• unknown date Jonathan SwiftThe representatives of the nation addressed the king.
• 2013-07-19, Peter Wilby, Finland spreads word on schools, Imagine a country where children do nothing but play until they start compulsory schooling at age seven. Then, without exception, they attend comprehensives until the age of 16....Children address teachers by their first names. Even 15-year-olds do no more than 30 minutes' homework a night.
10. (transitive) To direct in writing, as a letter; to superscribe, or to direct and transmit.
    He addressed a letter.
11. (transitive) To make suit to as a lover; to court; to woo.
12. (transitive) To consign or intrust to the care of another, as agent or factor.
    The ship was addressed to a merchant in Baltimore.
13. (transitive) To address oneself to; to prepare oneself for; to apply oneself to; to direct one's speech or discourse to.
• 2012-03, Lee A. Groat, Gemstones, Although there are dozens of different types of gems, among the best known and most important are … . (Common gem materials not addressed in this article include amber, amethyst, chalcedony, garnet, lazurite, malachite, opals, peridot, rhodonite, spinel, tourmaline, turquoise and zircon.)
14. (transitive, formal) To direct attention towards a problem or obstacle, in an attempt to resolve it.
• 2012, April 19, Josh Halliday, Free speech haven or lawless cesspool – can the internet be civilised?, "By all means we want people to use social media, but we do not want you to use it in ways that will incite violence," said Jonathan Toy, Southwark council's head of community safety. "This remains a big issue for us and without some form of censorship purely focusing on videos, I'm not sure how we can address it."
15. (intransitive, computing) To refer a location in computer memory.
16. (golf) To get ready to hit the ball on the tee.

Usage notes

The intransitive uses can be understood as omission of the reflexive pronoun.