detour

American  

[dee-toor, dih-toor] / ˈdi tʊər, dɪˈtʊər /

noun

• detours
  plural

1. a roundabout or circuitous way or course, especially one used temporarily when the main route is closed.

2. an indirect or roundabout procedure, path, etc.

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verb (used without object)

• detours,
  present (3rd person singular)
• detoured,
  past participle,  past
• detouring
  present participle

1. to make a detour; go by way of a detour.

verb (used with object)

• detours,
  present (3rd person singular)
• detoured,
  past participle,  past
• detouring
  present participle

1. to cause to make a detour.

2. to make a detour around.

   We detoured Birmingham.

detour British  

/ ˈdiːtʊə /

noun

1. a deviation from a direct, usually shorter route or course of action

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verb

1. to deviate or cause to deviate from a direct route or course of action

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• detours
  plural

Participles

• detouring
  present
• detoured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• detour
  simple
• detours
  simple
• have detoured
  perfect
• has detoured
  perfect
• am detouring
  progressive
• are detouring
  progressive
• is detouring
  progressive
• have been detouring
  perfect progressive
• has been detouring
  perfect progressive

Past

• detoured
  simple
• had detoured
  perfect
• was detouring
  progressive
• were detouring
  progressive
• had been detouring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will detour
  simple
• will have detoured
  perfect
• will be detouring
  progressive
• will have been detouring
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of detour

1730–40 < French détour, Old French destor, derivative of destorner to turn aside, equivalent to des- de- + torner to turn

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Explanation

A detour is a longer, less direct way to get where you're going. A traffic accident sometimes means you have to take a detour to get home. When signs direct drivers to take a detour, it's usually because of road work or an emergency that's blocking traffic. You can also detour, or take an unexpected route, while you're running errands, stopping at your favorite bakery for a cookie before you continue on. The French détour comes from the verb destorner, "turn aside."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

detour detours detoured detouring

Community members are concerned the closure will increase traffic in residential areas not along the designated detour routes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

“When there’s setbacks like this, you just wanna stand by him as close as you can and into this next phase on this detour to getting back onto the field.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

The Michelin Guide considers a two-star establishment as one that does "excellent cooking" and is "worth a detour".

From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026

And if you detour to the second-floor library, you’ll get the best view of a banana-yellow starfighter from “The Phantom Menace” that dangles over the lobby with R2-D2 perched in the tandem seat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

The pond was a short detour from the path around the island, about halfway between school and home.

From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins

In the new version, stripped of detours and detail, the same period occupies only a few pages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

If the film feels episodic while tracking the detours of the four—some antic, others grave—that’s partly the point: Among other things, the movie is a brief for leisure as a source of pleasure and disclosure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

I was in my late twenties at the time because I’d taken a few detours after I left high school, most of them dead ends.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026

One of the night’s longest detours centered on Trump’s planned White House ballroom.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2026

Others sensed turbulence approaching and took detours around destructive winds.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Parton "detoured the whole entourage to come around over there to where we were and then she knelt down to talk to Heather for a minute".

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

He then detoured to law school at Georgetown and briefly became a First Amendment lawyer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

Finding myself nearby, I’d detoured to have a look — and there was Mr. Khan, at first looking at me curiously and then waving me over to join him.

From New York Times ● Jun. 5, 2024

Southbound traffic on the 110 will be detoured to exit at the 10 Freeway interchange and reenter the 110 at either Exposition Boulevard or Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2024

On a cold spring afternoon, while walking home from school, I detoured through the playground at the end of our alley.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

A cost-benefit analysis of detouring for a lower price per gallon.

From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026

She glanced at him once with what looked like a hint of contemptuousness and ended without detouring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Yet, it’s disappointment that Perkins serves up most frequently in “The Monkey,” detouring from every wide-open chance to showcase depth and humanity in favor of juvenile humor and gross-out splatter gags.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2025

I figured out that they were detouring traffic off exit ramps prior to the bridge on each side.

From New York Times ● Apr. 1, 2024

Frightened jockeys take what Luther called “the married man’s route,” timidly detouring around the outside of the pack.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

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Related Words

• deviation
• diversion

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