deflection
Americannoun
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the act or state of deflecting or the state of being deflected.
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amount of deviation.
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the deviation of the indicator of an instrument from the position taken as zero.
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Optics. deviation.
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Military. the angle formed by the line of sight to the target and the line of sight to the point at which a gun is aimed so as to strike the target.
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Electronics. (in a cathode-ray tube) the bending by a magnetic field of the beam of electrons leaving the electron gun.
noun
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the act of deflecting or the state of being deflected
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the amount of deviation
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the change in direction of a light beam as it crosses a boundary between two media with different refractive indexes
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a deviation of the indicator of a measuring instrument from its zero position
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the movement of a structure or structural member when subjected to a load
Usage
What does deflection mean? Deflection is the act of deflecting—redirecting something or causing it to move in a direction that’s different from the course it had been on. It can also refer to an instance of deflecting, as in Despite a deflection by the goalie, the ball still rolled into the goal. The verb deflect can also be used in a passive way meaning for something to have its course changed, and deflection can also refer to an instance of this. Deflection can also be used in a figurative way referring to the act or an instance of doing something to avoid questioning or scrutiny, as in When asked about the scandal, the senator offered only deflection, giving a vague answer and changing the subject. Deflection can also be used in more specific ways in scientific and technical contexts. Example: The meteor is headed straight for Earth—our only chance is to cause a deflection using the space laser!
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of deflection
1595–1605; < Late Latin dēflexiōn- (stem of dēflexiō ), equivalent to Latin dēflex ( us ) (past participle of dēflectere; see deflect) + -iōn- -ion
Vocabulary lists containing deflection
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.
Harry Maguire: Reliable presence at the heart of the home defence, then got lucky with the deflection, otherwise his 'goal' might have been ruled out.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Those observations are intended to help researchers evaluate the deflection of asteroids as a potential method to defend Earth against asteroid impacts.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
The all-terrain tires undo some of this good work; the taller sidewalls mean more deflection in sharp cornering, a less crisp steering response, and a bit more tire noise at highway speeds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
We would expect the next commission’s debate to be carried out in public using the standard rhetorical tricks of today — namely lies, deflection and personal abuse.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
“Terrible deflection, by the way. You could have said, ‘Because I felt awkward eating too much at a family gathering with people I’ve never met before,’ and been done with it.”
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
