sidetrack
verb (used with or without object)
to move or distract from the main subject or course.
sidetracking
-
present participleof sidetrack.present participle
A verb form that is used in progressive verb constructions and may also function as a modifier or a gerund.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Attention then lurched to another hot-button environmental issue — the world’s largest dam removal on the Elwha River — further sidetracking efforts to extend wilderness areas.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2022
“People did it for me,” he says before sidetracking into bafflement over what GIF means.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 27, 2020
At one point he laments his sidetracking by drawing pictures of the plot line as strands of loops, switchbacks, and squiggles.
From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2016
Chamber of Commerce international economics head Myron Brilliant — that the two sides have set up a separate working group to help avoid sidetracking the rest of the discussion.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 10, 2013
From what he had heard of human prisoners, he'd guessed that sidetracking Steve's train of thought might help; it seemed to have worked.
From Fearful Symmetry A Terran Empire novel by Ann Wilson
