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Webster 1913 Edition

Express

Ex-press′

(ĕks-prĕs′)
,
Adj.
[F.
exprès
, L.
expressus
, p. p. of
exprimere
to express;
ex
. out +
premere
To press. See
Press
.]
1.
Exactly representing; exact.
Their human countenance
The
express
resemblance of the gods.
Milton.
2.
Directly and distinctly stated; declared in terms; not implied or left to inference; made unambiguous by intention and care; clear; not dubious;
as,
express
consent; an
express
statement.
I have express commandment.
Shakespeare
3.
Intended for a particular purpose; relating to an express; sent on a particular errand; dispatched with special speed;
as, an
express
messenger or train
. Also used adverbially.
A messenger sent
express
from the other world.
Atterbury.
Syn. – Explicit; clear; unambiguous. See
Explicit
.

Ex-press′

,
Noun.
[Cf. F.
exprès
a messenger.]
1.
A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
[Obs.]
The only remanent
express
of Christ’s sacrifice on earth.
Jer. Taylor.
2.
A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier; hence, a regular and fast conveyance; commonly, a company or system for the prompt and safe transportation of merchandise or parcels.
3.
An express office.
She charged him . . . to ask at the
express
if anything came up from town.
E. E. Hale.
4.
That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
[Obs.]
Eikon Basilike.
Express office
,
an office where packages for an express are received or delivered.
–
Express train
,
a railway train (such as a subway train) that does not stop at certain stations, but only at stations designated
express stops
.

Ex-press′

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Expressed
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Expressing
.]
[Cf. OF.
espresser
,
expresser
, L.
exprimere
,
expressum
. See
Express
,
Adj.
; cf.
Sprain
.]
1.
To press or squeeze out;
as, to
express
the juice of grapes, or of apples
; hence, to extort; to elicit.
All the fruits out of which drink is
expressed
.
Bacon.
And th'idle breath all utterly
expressed
.
Spenser.
Halters and racks can not
express
from thee
More than by deeds.
B. Jonson.
2.
To make or offer a representation of; to show by a copy or likeness; to represent; to resemble.
Each skillful artist shall
express
thy form.
E. Smith.
So kids and whelps their sires and dams
express
.
Dryden.
3.
To give a true impression of; to represent and make known; to manifest plainly; to show in general; to exhibit, as an opinion or feeling, by a look, gesture, and esp. by language; to declare; to utter; to tell.
My words
express
my purpose.
Shakespeare
They
expressed
in their lives those excellent doctrines of morality.
Addison.
4.
To make known the opinions or feelings of; to declare what is in the mind of; to show (one's self); to cause to appear; – used reflexively.
Mr. Phillips did
express
with much indignation against me, one evening.
Pope.
5.
To denote; to designate.
Moses and Aaron took these men, which are
expressed
by their names.
Num. i. 17.
Syn. – To declare; utter; signify; testify; intimate.

Webster 1828 Edition

Express

EXPRESS'

,
Verb.
T.
[L. expressum, exprimo; ex and premo, to press. See Press.]
1.
To press or squeeze out; to force out by pressure; as, to express the juice of grapes or of apples.
2.
To utter; to declare in words; to speak. He expressed his ideas or his meaning with precision. His views were expressed in very intelligible terms.
3.
To write or engrave; to represent in written words or language. The covenants in the deed are well expressed.
4.
To represent; to exhibit by copy or resemblance.
So kids and whelps their sires and dams express.
5.
To represent or show by imitation or the imitative arts; to form a likeness; as in painting or sculpture.
Each skilful artist shall express thy form.
6.
To show or make known; to indicate.
A downcast eye or look may express humility, shame or guilt.
7.
To denote; to designate.
Moses and Aaron took these men, who are expressed by their names. Num.1.
8.
To extort; to elicit. [Little used.]

EXPRESS'

,
Adj.
Plain; clear; expressed; direct not ambiguous. We are informed in express terms or words. The terms of the contract are express.
1.
Given in direct terms; not implied or left to inference. This is the express covenant or agreement. We have his express consent. We have an express law on the subject. Express warranty; express malice.
2.
Copied; resembling; bearing an exact representation.
His face express.
3.
Intended or sent for a particular purpose, or on a particular errand; as, to send a messenger express.

EXPRESS'

,
Noun.
A messenger sent on a particular errand or occasion; usually, a courier sent to communicate information of an important event, or to deliver; important dispatches. It is applied also to boats or vessels sent to convey important information.
1.
A message sent.
2.
A declaration in plain terms. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

express

express

English

Adjective

express ‎(comparative more express, superlative most express)

  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.
    I gave him express instructions not to begin until I arrived, but he ignored me.
    This book cannot be copied without the express permission of the publisher.
  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.
    • Milton
      Their human countenance / The express resemblance of the gods.
  4. (retail) Being a merchant offering a smaller selection of goods than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type.
    The Pizza Hut inside Target isn't a full one: it's a Pizza Hut Express.
    Some Wal-Mart stores will include a McDonald's Express.
    The mall's selection of cell phone carriers includes a full AT&T store and a T-Mobile express.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Translations

Noun

express ‎(plural expresses)

  1. A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly.
    I took the express into town.
    • 1931, Francis Beeding, chapter 1/1, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
      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.
  2. A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another.
  3. An express rifle.
    • H. Rider Haggard, King Solomon's Mines
      "Give me my express," I said, laying down the Winchester, and he handed it to me cocked.
  4. (obsolete) A clear image or representation; an expression; a plain declaration.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      the only remanent express of Christ's sacrifice on earth
  5. A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier.
  6. An express office.
    • E. E. Hale
      She charged him […] to ask at the express if anything came up from town.
  7. That which is sent by an express messenger or message.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Eikon Basilike to this entry?)
Synonyms
  • (of a train): fast train
Antonyms
Translations

Etymology 2

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

Verb

express ‎(third-person singular simple present expresses, present participle expressing, simple past and past participle expressed)

  1. (transitive) To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      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.
    Words cannot express the love I feel for him.‎
  2. (transitive) To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk).
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick, chapter 13
      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 [...].
  3. (biochemistry) To translate messenger RNA into protein.
  4. (biochemistry) To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA.
    • 2015, Ferris Jabr, How Humans Ended Up With Freakishly Huge Brains, Wired:
      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.
Synonyms
Translations
Related terms

Noun

express ‎(plural expresses)

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

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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