the speech act of answering an attack on your assertions; "his refutation of the charges was short and persuasive"; "in defense he said the other man started it"
a part of a structure having some specific characteristic or function; "the spacious cooking area provided plenty of room for servants"
the extent of a 2-dimensional surface enclosed within a boundary; "the area of a rectangle"; "it was about 500 square feet in area"
a part of an animal that has a special function or is supplied by a given artery or nerve; "in the abdominal region"
a subject of study; "it was his area of specialization"; "areas of interest include..."
a particular geographical region of indefinite boundary (usually serving some special purpose or distinguished by its people or culture or geography); "it was a mountainous area"; "Bible country"
a day on which work is suspended by law or custom; "no mail is delivered on federal holidays"; "it's a good thing that New Year's was a holiday because everyone had a hangover"
lacking compromising or mitigating elements; exact; "the direct opposite"
direct in spatial dimensions; proceeding without deviation or interruption; straight and short; "a direct route"; "a direct flight"; "a direct hit"
(of a current) flowing in one direction only; "direct current"
extended senses; direct in means or manner or behavior or language or action; "a direct question"; "a direct response"; "a direct approach"
similar in nature or effect or relation to another quantity; "a term is in direct proportion to another term if it increases (or decreases) as the other increases (or decreases)"
moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth
having no intervening persons, agents, conditions; "in direct sunlight"; "in direct contact with the voters"; "direct exposure to the disease"; "a direct link"; "the direct cause of the accident"; "direct vote"
in precisely the same words used by a writer or speaker; "a direct quotation"; "repeated their dialog verbatim"
being an immediate result or consequence; "a direct result of the accident"
command with authority; "He directed the children to do their homework"
give directions to; point somebody into a certain direction; "I directed them towards the town hall"
an imaginary great circle on the surface of the earth passing through the north and south poles at right angles to the equator; "all points on the same meridian have the same longitude"
a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning); "he got his start because one of the regular pitchers was in the hospital"; "his starting meant that the coach thought he was one of their best linemen"
advantage gained by an beginning early (as in a race); "with an hour's start he will be hard to catch"
the beginning of anything; "it was off to a good start"
a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game
play in the starting lineup
get off the ground; "Who started this company?"; "We embarked on an exciting enterprise"; "I start my day with a good breakfast"; "We began the new semester"; "The afternoon session begins at 4 PM"; "The blood shed started when the partisans launched a surprise attack"
get going or set in motion; "We simply could not start the engine"; "start up the computer"
begin or set in motion; "I start at eight in the morning"; "Ready, set, go!"
bulge outward; "His eyes popped"
begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job; "Take up a position"; "start a new job"
the central part of a car wheel (or fan or propeller etc) through which the shaft or axle passes
a center of activity or interest or commerce or transportation; a focal point around which events revolve; "the playground is the hub of parental supervision"; "the airport is the economic hub of the area"
the act of systematically moving a finely focused beam of light or electrons over a surface in order to produce an image of it for analysis or transmission
the process of translating photographs into a digital form that can be recognized by a computer