WordLens

divert

1 of 1verb
/daɪˈvɝt/
Forms:diverts,diverting,diverted,diverted
1

to change direction or take a different course

  • Road construction forced the city buses to divert from their usual route.
  • The river diverts to the east before reaching the main channel.
  • The protest march had to divert around a street closure.
  • The airplane's flight path had to divert slightly to avoid a flock of birds in its trajectory.
  • In response to unexpected obstacles on the hiking trail, the group decided to divert and explore a nearby clearing.
Synonyms:
2

to engage or occupy someone in an amusing or enjoyable manner

transitive
  • The magician's tricks were so captivating that they diverted the children for hours.
  • While the children were diverted by the magician's tricks, some parents felt the performance was too repetitive.
  • The music festival featured a variety of talented artists that could divert any music enthusiast.
Synonyms:
3

to cause someone or something to change direction

C1transitive
  • The river's unexpected flooding prompted the emergency response team to divert residents to safer areas.
  • Air traffic control had to divert several incoming flights to different runways.
  • The hiking trail was temporarily closed, so the park rangers diverted visitors to alternative paths.
  • To avoid a collision, the pilot had to make a quick decision to divert the aircraft away from another plane in its path.
  • The marathon route was diverted through scenic neighborhoods to showcase more of the city's landmarks.
4

to redirect money, materials, or resources from their original intended purpose to another use

transitive
  • The company decided to divert funds from marketing to research and development.
  • Due to the emergency, they had to divert the supplies meant for the original project to disaster relief efforts.
  • Instead of vacationing abroad, they decided to divert their travel budget to home improvements.
5

to distract or shift someone's attention or focus away from something

transitive
  • The entertaining movie was enough to divert my attention from the stressful day.
  • His clever jokes were meant to divert the team's focus during the tense meeting.
  • It's essential to divert the children's attention from the dangerous situation.
6

to arrange for incoming telephone calls to be redirected to another number

transitive
  • She decided to divert her business calls to her colleague's phone while she was on vacation.
  • In case of an emergency, you can divert the calls to the on-call technician.
  • Please divert my calls to the office landline during the conference.