Express

/ɪkˈspɹɛs/ adj, adv, noun, verb

adj, adv, noun, verb ·Top 500 ·Middle school level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.
  • Grammar: express is listed as adj, adv, noun, verb.
  • Nearest alternatives: absolute, accurate, actualizes, admitting no exception.
  • Useful contrasts: implied, implicit contract, secondary.
  • Usage evidence: I don't like it when mathematicians who know much more than I do can't express themselves explicitly.

How to use "express"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "express" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "express" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "express" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "express" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "express" is acting as adj, adv, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "absolute" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "express", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.

    "I took the express into town."

  2. 2
    The action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression. obsolete

    "Whereby they discoursed in silence, and were intuitively understood from the theory of their expresses."

  3. 3
    rapid transport of goods wordnet
  4. 4
    A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.; a public utility vehicle, typically a jeepney, that traverses through an expressway Philippines
  5. 5
    A specific statement or instruction. obsolete

    "This Gentleman [...] caused a man to go down no less than a hundred fathom, with express to take notice whether it were hard or soft in the place where it groweth."

Show 8 more definitions
  1. 6
    public transport consisting of a fast train or bus that makes only a few scheduled stops wordnet
  2. 7
    A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
  3. 8
    mail that is distributed by a rapid and efficient system wordnet
  4. 9
    An express rifle.

    ""Give me my express," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked."

  5. 10
    A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration. obsolete

    "And this [holy communion] being the great myſtery of Chriſtianity, and the onely remanent expreſſe of Chriſts ſacrifice on earth, it is moſt conſonant to the Analogy of the myſtery, that this commemorative ſacrifice be preſented by perſons as ſeparate, and diſtinct in our miniſtery, […]"

  6. 11
    A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.

    "I learned, to my inexpressible terror, that at two o'clock, the day before, an express had been sent to Geraldine by Mr Bergasse, with a letter, which he had received from the Hotel de Romagnecourt."

  7. 12
    An express office.

    "She charged him […] to ask at the express if anything came up from town."

  8. 13
    That which is sent by an express messenger or message.

    "popular captations, which some men use in their Speeches, and Expresses"

Verb
  1. 1
    To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit. transitive

    "Words cannot express the love I feel for him."

  2. 2
    articulate; either verbally or with a cry, shout, or noise wordnet
  3. 3
    To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk). transitive

    "The people of his island of Rokovoko, it seems, at their wedding feasts express the fragrant water of young cocoanuts into a large stained calabash like a punchbowl […]"

  4. 4
    give expression to wordnet
  5. 5
    To translate messenger RNA into protein.
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    send by rapid transport or special messenger service wordnet
  2. 7
    To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.

    "When a cell “expresses” a gene, it translates the DNA first into a signature messenger RNA (mRNA) sequence and subsequently into a chain of amino acids that forms a protein."

  3. 8
    serve as a means for expressing something wordnet
  4. 9
    indicate through a symbol, formula, etc. wordnet
  5. 10
    obtain from a substance, as by mechanical action wordnet
  6. 11
    manifest the effects of (a gene or genetic trait) wordnet
Adjective
  1. 1
    Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied. comparable

    "I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me."

  3. 3
    Truly depicted; exactly resembling.

    "In my eyes it bore a livelier image of the spirit, it seemed more express and single, than the imperfect and divided countenance."

  4. 4
    Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type. postpositional

    "Tesco Express"

Adjective
  1. 1
    not tacit or implied wordnet
  2. 2
    without unnecessary stops wordnet
Adverb
  1. 1
    Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.

    "The train runs express to 96 St."

Adverb
  1. 1
    by express wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
absoluteaccurateactualizesadmitting no exceptionadviceaffect

Antonyms

impliedimplicit contractsecondaryambiguous

Example

"I don't like it when mathematicians who know much more than I do can't express themselves explicitly."

Common questions

What does "express" mean?

A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly, either on a regular schedule or as a special or excursion. Express trains often pass through stations along the way without stopping at them.

What is a synonym for "express"?

Common synonyms include: absolute, accurate, actualizes, admitting no exception, advice, affect.

How do you use "express" in a sentence?

I don't like it when mathematicians who know much more than I do can't express themselves explicitly.

How do you pronounce "express"?

Pronounced /ɪkˈspɹɛs/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From French exprès, from Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere (see Etymology 2, below).

Etymology 2

From Old French espresser, expresser, from frequentative form of Latin exprimere.

More for "express"

Synonyms

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