Dictionary

express en · ADJ · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
• /ɛkˈspɹɛs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (not-comparable) Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
2. (comparable) Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.
   • This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.
   • Beginning with the next issue, which will be the January, 1950, issue, this magazine will be published on the first of every month. This step has been taken at the express wish of readers despite the present paper and production difficulties. 1949 November and December, “Return to Monthly Publication”, in Railway Magazine, page 351:
   • I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.
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.
   • Soon as the potion works, their human countenance, / The express resemblance of the gods, is changed / Into some brutish form, of wolf, or bear, / Or ounce, or tiger, hog, or bearded goat, / All other parts remaining as they were[…] 1634, John Milton, edited by Homer Sprague, The Mask of Comus, New York: J. W. Schermerhorn & Co., published 1876, page 253:
4. (postpositional) Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type.
   • Tesco Express
   • McDonald's Express

Forms

Antonyms

implied

Deriveds

express train · express elevator · express road · express kidnapping · express lane · express officer · FedEx

Synonyms

unambiguous · explicit · univocal · plain · patent · crack · clear · monosemous · specific · plain · explicit · unequivocal · express · direct · monosemic · fast

Translations (51)

hu sürgős (moving or operating quickly) · hu gyors (moving or operating quickly) · ms ligas (moving or operating quickly) · fi pika- (moving or operating quickly) · nl snel (moving or operating quickly) · sq përpiktë (specific or precise) · ru высокоскоростно́й (moving or operating quickly) · sq rrufeshëm (moving or operating quickly) · pt expresso (moving or operating quickly) · ru сро́чный (moving or operating quickly) · mi tīpoka (moving or operating quickly) · hu expressz (moving or operating quickly) · hu hű (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · mk ја́сен (specific or precise) · bg бърз (moving or operating quickly) · es expreso (specific or precise) · ms ekspres (moving or operating quickly) · fi nimenomainen (specific or precise) · ms laju (moving or operating quickly) · ja 特別 (specific or precise) · de ausdrücklich (specific or precise) · hu kifejezett (specific or precise) · nl gedetailleerd (specific or precise) · ms pantas (moving or operating quickly) · pt expresso (specific or precise) · gl expreso (moving or operating quickly) · ru скоростно́й (moving or operating quickly) · sv uttrycklig (specific or precise) · ja 明確 (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · mk и́зречен (specific or precise) · mk то́чен (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · hu nyílt (specific or precise) · bg изрѝчен (specific or precise) · bg то̀чен (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · ru ско́рый (moving or operating quickly) · hu világos (specific or precise) · sv express (moving or operating quickly) · mk брз (moving or operating quickly) · hu pontos (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · is hrað- (moving or operating quickly) · da hurtig (moving or operating quickly) · fi ilmeinen (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · ja 快速 (moving or operating quickly) · mk е́кспре́сен (moving or operating quickly) · da udtrykkelig (specific or precise) · ja 明白 (truly depicted, exactly resembling) · fi pika- (providing limited, fast service) · bg експрѐсен (moving or operating quickly) · cs výslovný (specific or precise) · es expreso (moving or operating quickly) · fi yksikäsitteinen (specific or precise)

express en · ADV · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
• /ɛkˈspɹɛs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
   • The train runs express to 96 St.

express en · NOUN · etymology 1

Pronunciation

• /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
• /ɛkˈspɹɛs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

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.
   • The train was moving less fast through the summer night. The swift express had changed into something almost a parliamentary, had stopped three times since Norwich, and now, at long last, was approaching Banton. 1931, Francis Beeding, “1/1”, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
   • Except for the mid-winter period, when the 11.30 a.m. from Paddington and its opposite number will be withdrawn - Torquay now has seven daily expresses to and from Paddington as compared with five down and six up previously. 1961 October, “The winter timetables of British Railways: Western Region”, in Trains Illustrated, page 590:
   • Your attention please. Train 4715 is now boarding on track 3, section B. This train is an express. This train does not stop at Foo, Bar, or Fubar stations.
   • This is also a TransPennine Express service which makes a mockery of the word 'express'. 2023 November 1, Philip Haigh, “TPE must choose the right route to a brighter future”, in RAIL, number 995, page 56:
   • I took the express into town.
2. (Philippines, qualifier:chiefly Metro Manila) 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
3. A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
4. An express rifle.
   • "Give me my express," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked. 1885, H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines:
5. (obsolete) A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
   • 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, […] 1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, “Section V”, in Clerus Domini: or, A Discourse of the Divine Institution, Necessity, Sacrednesse, and Separation of the Office Ministerial. […], London: […] R[ichard] Royston […], published 1655, →OCLC, paragraph 5, page 30:
6. 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. 1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 381:
7. An express office.
   • She charged him […] to ask at the express if anything came up from town. 1873, Edward Everett Hale, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day:
8. That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
   • So much was Sir Edward delighted that he sent an express to inform Lord Meersbrook of this great act of friendship, in order that he might be the more easy on their account;... 1842, [anonymous collaborator of Letitia Elizabeth Landon], chapter LX, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume III, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 132:
   • popular captations, which some men use in their Speeches, and Expresses 1648, attributed to Charles I of England, Εἰκὼν Βασιλική [Eikōn Basilikē = Royal Portrait]. The Pourtraicture of His Sacred Maiestie, in His Solitvdes and Svfferings:
   • “5th, If an express requires extraordinary despatch, the man-mountain shall be obliged to carry, in his pocket, the messenger and horse a six days journey, once in every moon, and return the said messenger back (if so required) safe to our imperial presence. 1726 October 28, [Jonathan Swift], Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. […] [Gulliver’s Travels], volume I, London: […] Benj[amin] Motte, […], →OCLC, part I (A Voyage to Lilliput):

Forms

Antonyms

local · stopper · stopper · local

Deriveds

ankle express

Translations (27)

ja 急行列車 (quick mode of transportation) · uk експре́с (quick mode of transportation) · cmn 急行列車 /急行列车 (quick mode of transportation) · de Schnellzug (quick mode of transportation) · mk е́кспре́с (quick mode of transportation) · es expreso (quick mode of transportation) · cmn 快車 /快车 (quick mode of transportation) · sv express (quick mode of transportation) · nb ekspress (quick mode of transportation) · pt expresso (quick mode of transportation) · da ekspres (quick mode of transportation) · fr express (quick mode of transportation) · it espresso (quick mode of transportation) · ro expres (quick mode of transportation) · eo eksprestrajno (quick mode of transportation) · eo ekspreso (quick mode of transportation) · ru экспре́сс (quick mode of transportation) · bg експре́с (quick mode of transportation) · th รถด่วน (quick mode of transportation) · hu expressz (quick mode of transportation) · fi pikajuna (quick mode of transportation) · fi pikavuoro (quick mode of transportation) · ko 급행열차 (quick mode of transportation) · es exprés (quick mode of transportation) · nn ekspress (quick mode of transportation) · de Express (quick mode of transportation) · ru ско́рый по́езд (quick mode of transportation)

express en · NOUN · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
• /ɛkˈspɹɛs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (obsolete) The action of conveying some idea using words or actions; communication, expression.
   • Whereby they discoursed in silence, and were intuitively understood from the theory of their expresses. 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, V.20:
2. (obsolete) A specific statement or instruction.
   • 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. 1646, Sir Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica, II.5:

Forms

express en · VERB · etymology 2

Pronunciation

• /ɪkˈspɹɛs/
• /ɛkˈspɹɛs/
• (US) audio

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (transitive) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.
   • Words cannot express the love I feel for him.
   • We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith. As we reached the lodge we heard the whistle, and we backed up against one side of the platform as the train pulled up at the other. 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
   • Obama expresses empathy for graduates who might be feeling lost or overwhelmed, adding she, too, feels those emotions. 2020 June 7, Kate Bennett, “Michelle Obama to 2020 graduates: ‘For those of you who feel invisible: Please know that your story matters’”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2022:
   • Services during Yom Kippur are held continuously through the day and include readings from the Torah and the reciting of prayers expressing regret or asking for forgiveness. 2019 October 8, Christina Maxouris, Doug Criss, “Everything you wanted to know about Yom Kippur”, in CNN, archived from the original on 06 Aug 2020:
2. (transitive) To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).
   • They don’t have teats, so the mothers express their milk onto their bellies for their young to feed. 2018 March 15, Kelsey Munroe, “Platypus milk: unlikely weapon in fight against superbugs”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2018:
   • It contained many cysts which were filled with sagolike granules that could be expressed under pressure. 1949, United States Naval Medical Bulletin, volume 49, number 1, page 61:
   • 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 […] 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “chapter 13”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
3. To translate messenger RNA into protein.
4. 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. 2015 November 28, Ferris Jabr, “How Humans Ended Up With Freakishly Huge Brains”, in WIRED, archived from the original on 06 Mar 2016:

Forms

Coordinates

put

Deriveds

underexpress · expressed emotion · expressman · coexpress · reexpress · re-express · misexpress · agroexpress · expressless · expressable · expressedly · expressed · expressway · co-express · overexpress · expressome · immunoexpress · hyperexpress · expressor · expressage · superexpress · unexpress · express oneself · FedEx · expressness

Relateds

expressive · expressively · expression · expressly · expressible · expressibly

Synonyms

put · express · common · articulate · utter · outspeak · utter · portray · communicate · make known · convey · outspeak · share

Translations (109)

gl expresar (to convey meaning) · sh izražavati (to convey meaning) · sh изразити (to convey meaning) · fi puristaa (to squeeze out) · mi tatau (to squeeze out) · ru выража́ть (to convey meaning) · sv yttra (to convey meaning) · fi erittää (to excrete or cause to excrete) · et väljendama (to convey meaning) · ko 표현하다 (to convey meaning) · hu kiválaszt (to excrete or cause to excrete) · sl izraziti (to convey meaning) · sv framföra (to convey meaning) · fy útdrukke (to convey meaning) · fi ilmaista (to convey meaning) · es expremir (to convey meaning) · hu kinyilvánít (to convey meaning) · cmn 表現 /表现 (to convey meaning) · es exprimir (to excrete or cause to excrete) · hu kijelent (to convey meaning) · hu kifejez (to convey meaning) · hu kisajtol (to excrete or cause to excrete) · gl espremer (to excrete or cause to excrete) · wa fé tchitchî (to excrete or cause to excrete) · bg изразя (to convey meaning) · sq shpreh (to convey meaning) · mk изрази (to convey meaning) · hu kicsavar (to excrete or cause to excrete) · cy mynegi (to convey meaning) · ca expressar (to convey meaning) · cs vyjádřit (to convey meaning) · izh näyttää (to convey meaning) · bg изразявам (to convey meaning) · it dichiarare (to convey meaning) · mk изразува (to convey meaning) · hu kifacsar (to excrete or cause to excrete) · nl uitdrukken (to convey meaning) · sk vyjadriť (to convey meaning) · de ausdrücken (to convey meaning) · hi व्यक्त करना (to convey meaning) · oc exprimir (to convey meaning) · wa fé brotchî foû (to excrete or cause to excrete) · pt espremer (to excrete or cause to excrete) · ru вы́разить (to convey meaning) · sh изражавати (to convey meaning) · kk айшықтау (to convey meaning) · sl izražati (to convey meaning) · da udtrykke (to convey meaning) · sv kväda (to convey meaning) · he ביטא (to convey meaning) · sv uttrycka (to convey meaning) · eu adierazi (to convey meaning) · uk виража́ти (to convey meaning) · de äußern (to convey meaning) · pt expressar (to convey meaning) · bg изстисквам (to excrete or cause to excrete) · no uttrykke (to convey meaning) · pl wyrazić (to convey meaning) · uk ви́разити (to convey meaning) · mi whaiere (to convey meaning) · kk айтып жеткізу (to convey meaning) · ar عَبَّرَ (to convey meaning) · hu kimond (to convey meaning) · be вы́казаць (to convey meaning) · lv izteikt (to convey meaning) · uk висло́влювати (to convey meaning) · mi kutē (to squeeze out) · kk баяндау (to convey meaning) · ota صاغمق (to squeeze out) · ro exprima (to convey meaning) · hu kinyom (to excrete or cause to excrete) · cs vyjadřovat (to convey meaning) · vi biểu hiện (to convey meaning) · fr exprimer (to excrete or cause to excrete) · es expresar (to convey meaning) · kk білдіру (to convey meaning) · sk vyjadrovať (to convey meaning) · ja 表す (to convey meaning) · is tjá (to convey meaning) · sh izraziti (to convey meaning) · mi whakawhetē (to excrete or cause to excrete) · hu kiprésel (to excrete or cause to excrete) · kk сығып шығару (to squeeze out) · ru выдавливать (to squeeze out) · cmn 表達 /表达 (to convey meaning) · sv uttala (to convey meaning) · pt extrair (to excrete or cause to excrete) · kk аңғарту (to convey meaning) · uk ви́словити (to convey meaning) · ru вы́сказать (to convey meaning) · cmn 表示 (to convey meaning) · lv izsacīt (to convey meaning) · ru выска́зывать (to convey meaning) · lv izpaust (to convey meaning) · ru выжимать (to squeeze out) · el εκφράζω (to convey meaning) · az ifadə etmək (to convey meaning) · it esprimere (to convey meaning) · fr exprimer (to convey meaning) · pl wyrażać (to convey meaning) · mi whakatē (to squeeze out) · eo esprimi (to convey meaning) · ka გამოხატავს (to convey meaning) · ja 表現する (to convey meaning) · hu expresszál (to translate messenger RNA into protein) · mi whakatē (to excrete or cause to excrete) · ja 述べる (to convey meaning) · ga cuir in iúl (to convey meaning) · be выка́зваць (to convey meaning)