detour
Americannoun
-
a roundabout or circuitous way or course, especially one used temporarily when the main route is closed.
-
an indirect or roundabout procedure, path, etc.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
-
to cause to make a detour.
-
to make a detour around.
We detoured Birmingham.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
detoursimple
-
detourssimple
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have detouredperfect
-
has detouredperfect
-
am detouringprogressive
-
are detouringprogressive
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is detouringprogressive
-
have been detouringperfect progressive
-
has been detouringperfect progressive
Past
-
detouredsimple
-
had detouredperfect
-
was detouringprogressive
-
were detouringprogressive
-
had been detouringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of detour
1730–40 < French détour, Old French destor, derivative of destorner to turn aside, equivalent to des- de- + torner to turn
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."
Vocabulary lists containing detour
Achievement First 5th Grade IA 1 Words
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Barbara Bush (1925 - 2018) Tribute List
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Shiloh
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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.
In her statement, Kim revealed she intends to release the full album, understood to be titled Detour, regardless.
From BBC • Jan. 21, 2026
Pennebaker; and a marvelous TV series featuring schoolchildren that Godard made with Anne-Marie Mieville, his longtime partner and collaborator, titled “France Tour Detour Deux Enfants.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 15, 2022
Sheridan excels as playing insecure young men — see also "The Mountain," "Detour," and "The Night Clerk" — but he is in danger of getting typecast.
From Salon • Dec. 22, 2021
His son, Tom Neal Jr, starred in one movie: a 1992 remake of Detour, as Al Roberts.
From The Guardian • Jul. 6, 2020
Surely not the place with the absurd name that he remembered now on the mountain Detour.
From The City of Fire by Hill, Grace Livingston
Definitions 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.
