Express Meaning
/ɪkˈspɹɛs/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
adjMoving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops.
adjSpecific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied.
Sentence Examples
Express your idea clearly.
The express train does not stop between Shibuya and Naka-Meguro.
How can I ever express my thanks to you for all you've done?
CEFR Practice Quiz
She chose to ____ her feelings through a heartfelt poem.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sent the package via ____ mail so that his mother would receive it in time for her birthday.
Word Origin & History
From French exprès, from Latin expressus, past participle of exprimere (see Etymology 2, below).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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:
"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:
"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"Except for the mid-winter period, when the 11.30 a.m. from Paddington and its opposite number will be withdrawn - Torquay now has seven daily expresses to and from Paddington as compared with five down and six up previously."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:
"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:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She chose to ____ her feelings through a heartfelt poem.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He sent the package via ____ mail so that his mother would receive it in time for her birthday.