direct vs express

direct

verb
  • To point out to or show (somebody) the right course or way; to guide, as by pointing out the way. 

  • To manage, control, steer. 

  • To aim (something) at (something else). 

  • To point out to with authority; to instruct as a superior; to order. 

adv
  • Directly. 

adj
  • having a single flight number. 

  • Straight; not crooked, oblique, or circuitous; leading by the short or shortest way to a point or end. 

  • Pertaining to, or effected immediately by, action of the people through their votes instead of through one or more representatives or delegates. 

  • Immediate; express; plain; unambiguous. 

  • Proceeding without deviation or interruption. 

  • Straightforward; sincere. 

  • In the line of descent; not collateral. 

  • In the direction of the general planetary motion, or from west to east; in the order of the signs; not retrograde; said of the motion of a celestial body. 

express

verb
  • To convey or communicate; to make known or explicit. 

  • To transcribe deoxyribonucleic acid into messenger RNA. 

  • To press, squeeze out (especially said of milk). 

  • To translate messenger RNA into protein. 

noun
  • An express office. 

  • That which is sent by an express messenger or message. 

  • A mode of transportation, often a train, that travels quickly or directly. 

  • A service that allows mail or money to be sent rapidly from one destination to another. 

  • An express rifle. 

  • A messenger sent on a special errand; a courier. 

adj
  • Truly depicted; exactly resembling. 

  • Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops. 

  • Specific or precise; directly and distinctly stated; not merely implied. 

  • Providing a more limited but presumably faster service than a full or complete dealer of the same kind or type. 

adv
  • Moving or operating quickly, as a train not making local stops. 

How often have the words direct and express occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )