Address Has Four Meanings and Two Pronunciations. Here They Are
An address is where you live, a formal speech, a verb meaning to speak to someone, and a verb meaning to deal with a problem.
Address is a word that changed direction over time. Its oldest sense is to make straight or direct something. From there English got the letter address, the public address, and the act of dealing with a difficulty.
- Where a place is. *Write your address on the form.*
- A formal speech. *The president's address to the nation.*
- To speak to someone. *She addressed the crowd from the steps.*
- To deal with a problem. *The report fails to address the cost.*
- In computing. *A memory address, an email address, an IP address.*
Word forms and stress
| Form | Word | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | address | British English stresses the second syllable; American often the first. |
| Plural | addresses | Both addresses were wrong. |
| Verb | address | Always stressed on the second syllable. |
| Past | addressed | The letter was addressed to me. |
| Person | addressee | The addressee had moved. |
How it is used in a sentence
- The parcel went to the wrong address.The location sense.
- He addressed the meeting for ten minutes.To speak to a group.
- We need to address this before it gets worse.To deal with a problem — very common in formal writing.
- Do not address me by my first name.To use a form of speech towards someone.
Address, tackle and handle
- Address — formal; treat a problem seriously and openly
- Tackle — energetic, often physical metaphor
- Handle — manage something ongoing, often with skill
- Deal with — the plain, all-purpose option
From Old French *adrecier*, to straighten or direct, from Latin *directiare*. Every modern sense is a version of pointing something at its target: a letter at a house, a speech at a crowd, an effort at a problem.
Is address stressed on the first or second syllable?
The verb is always ad-DRESS. The noun is ad-DRESS in British English and often AD-dress in American English; both are widely understood.
What does address the issue mean?
To deal with it directly rather than avoid it — usually by acknowledging it and taking action.