All 6 Uses of
direct
in
Gym Candy
- Downs was a PE teacher as well as head football coach, but he had a sub Tuesday and another one Wednesday, and both days he'd had meetings with the principal and the athletic director.
Part 3 (definition 1)director = supervisor (person in charge)standard suffix: The suffix "-or" often converts a verb to a noun that means "a person who." This is the pattern you see in words like actor, editor, and visitor.
- Maybe he burned out, or someone got sick in his family, or he hated the athletic director.
Part 3 (definition 1) *
- Next came another whistle, and within seconds they had broken up into different subgroups, and each subgroup had a coach directing it.
Part 3 (definition 2) *directing = instructing
- Carlson worked directly with me and Drew and the other backs.
Part 3 (definition 3) *directly = personally (person-to-person)
- I could feel the rage coming—only this time it wasn't directed at Russ Diver or anybody else.
Part 4 (definition 4) *directed = aimed
- He strode across the tile floor, walked directly up to me, and stuck out his hand.
Part Epil. (definition 3)directly = straight (exactly where stated; used for emphasis)
Definitions:
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(1) (direct as in: directed the movie) supervise, control, or to be in charge of
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(2) (direct as in: directed the jury to...) give instructions or commands
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(3) (direct as in: directly above; or buy direct from) straight (exactly where stated); or without involvement of anything in betweenThe exact meaning of this sense of direct is subject to its context. For example:
- "The road runs directly to Las Vegas." -- straight (without varying from a straight line)
- "It was a direct hit." -- exact
- "The plant is in direct sunlight." -- unobstructed (without anything in between)
- "She wants a direct meeting with him." -- personal (without other people in between)
- "She paid direct attention to what he was reading." -- close
- "a direct gaze" -- straight, steady, or focused--not a brief glance taken while generally looking at other things; not a sideways look
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(4) (direct as in: directed her question to) to indicate direction; or to cause movement or focus in a direction or towards an objectThe exact meaning of this sense of direct is subject to its context. For example:
- "intentionally directed fire at unarmed civilians" -- aimed a gun
- "directed the question to her" -- aimed a question
- "directed her north" -- pointed in a particular direction
- "directed attention to the 3rd paragraph" -- focused attention on a particular object
- "The sound of her voice directed him to the kitchen." -- guided or gave directions to someone to help them move to a particular place
- "She directed him to the airport." -- gave directions to send someone to a particular place
- "She directed the boat north." -- steered it
- "directed the letter to" -- send a letter to a particular person by putting a name and address on it