Directory
adj, noun
adj, noun ·4 syllables ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A list of names, addresses etc, of specific classes of people or organizations, often in alphabetical order or in some classification.
"look up an address in the directory"
- 2 an alphabetical list of names and addresses wordnet
- 3 A structured listing of the names and characteristics of the files on a storage device.
- 4 (computer science) a listing of the files stored in memory (usually on a hard disk) wordnet
- 5 A virtual container in a computer's file system, in which files and other directories may be stored. The files and subdirectories in a directory are usually related.
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- 6 A form of government with a collegial executive whose members jointly exercise power; the executive of such a government.
"[…] at the Ufa State Conference it was it was the union's conception of a directory (rather than a dictatorship) to rule anti-Bolshevik Russia that won the day."
Adjective
- 1 Containing directions; instructing; directorial.
Example
More examples"I looked up his telephone number in a telephone directory."
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English directorie, dyrectorye, from Medieval Latin dīrēctōrium. By surface analysis, direct + -ory. Doublet of directorium. The political sense is a semantic loan from French directoire.
Etymology 2
From Middle English directorye, from Latin dīrēctōrius. By surface analysis, direct + -ory.
Related phrases
More for "directory"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.