Express: Pressing a Thought Out Into Words
To express is to put a feeling or idea into a form others can receive. The same word names a fast train, and the link is real.
To express something is to press it out where it can be seen: in words, in a face, in a piece of music. The fast train shares the root by a different route — an express was originally a message sent specially, pressed out and dispatched without stopping.
- To put into words or signs. *Express your view.*
- Clearly stated. *Her express instructions.*
- Fast and direct. *The express train.*
- To squeeze out liquid. *Expressed juice.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Verb | express | Express an opinion. |
| Noun | expression | A odd expression. |
| Adjective | expressive | Expressive hands. |
| Adverb | expressly | Expressly forbidden. |
| Noun | express | Catch the express. |
How it is used in a sentence
- He struggled to express what he meant.The commonest use, about words.
- The contract expressly forbids resale.Expressly means stated outright.
- Take the express; it skips six stops.The transport sense.
Express or implied?
- Express — stated openly (*an express term*)
- Implied — understood without being stated
- Explicit — spelled out in detail
- Tacit — agreed silently
- Expression — the result: a phrase, a look, a mathematical formula
From Latin *exprimere*, to press out, from *ex* (out) and *premere* (to press). The same *premere* gives *press*, *pressure*, *compress* and *espresso*, coffee forced out under pressure.
Express or expresso?
The coffee is espresso, from Italian. Expresso is a common misspelling, though it appears in some dictionaries as a variant.
What does *express term* mean in a contract?
A term actually written or spoken, as opposed to one implied by law or by custom.