distract
Americanverb (used with object)
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distracts,
present (3rd person singular)
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distracted,
past participle, past
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distracting
present participle
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to draw away or divert, as the mind or attention.
The music distracted him from his work.
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to disturb or trouble greatly in mind; beset.
Grief distracted him.
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to provide a pleasant diversion for; amuse; entertain.
I'm bored with bridge, but golf still distracts me.
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to separate or divide by dissension or strife.
adjective
verb
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(often passive) to draw the attention of (a person) away from something
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to divide or confuse the attention of (a person)
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to amuse or entertain
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to trouble greatly
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to make mad
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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distracternoun
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distractibilitynoun
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distractibleadjective
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distractingadjective
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distractiveadjective
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nondistractingadjective
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undistractingadjective
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distractinglyadverb
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distractivelyadverb
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nondistractinglyadverb
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undistractinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distractsimple
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distractssimple
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have distractedperfect
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has distractedperfect
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am distractingprogressive
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are distractingprogressive
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is distractingprogressive
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have been distractingperfect progressive
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has been distractingperfect progressive
Past
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distractedsimple
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had distractedperfect
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was distractingprogressive
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were distractingprogressive
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had been distractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of distract
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin distractus “drawn apart,” past participle of distrahere “to draw apart,” from dis- dis- 1 + trahere “to draw”
Explanation
Distract is what you do when you draw someone’s attention — Hey! Look! Over there! Oh. Never mind. What was I saying? That’s right: distract is to draw attention away from what someone is doing. Distract comes from the Latin word for “draw apart.” It can be annoying when someone or something distracts you. A loud car alarm or a talkative friend might distract you when you’re watching your favorite TV show. But being distracted is not always bad. Playing a round of miniature golf might distract you from feeling sad about the death of your parakeet.
Vocabulary lists containing distract
List 3
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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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.
See Examples For:
Galliano added that he did not want "to distract from the remarkable work" of the Met's Costume Institute and said he recognised and respected that "an exhibition honouring my work would be painful for some".
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
“You don’t need to be all things to all people, and too often brands are chasing trends or limited-time offerings that distract their crew from focusing on what made them successful to begin with.”
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
The internal rifts threatened to distract the group while it was facing severe business headwinds including the revival of Air India, which it bought from the Indian government in 2022.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
The knock on such megamergers is well-known: They distract management, sow years of organizational chaos, and invite regulatory scrutiny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
“That’s a fair bargain. Why don’t you return in an hour and scream something to distract everyone. This will be a task worthy of a bolt.”
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
Led by Susan Angelo, Jan Wikstrom and Ellen Geer, this ensemble, under the direction of Willow Geer, diverts and distracts from the mustier aspects of Coward’s style.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
An exhibition at the American Folk Art Museum distracts from its charming objects with a a heavy-handed curatorial message.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 4, 2026
Ultimately, the fixation on Hasan Piker distracts from more substantive issues.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
The attacker's unusual position drags Van Dijk away from the right side of the pitch and distracts him as PSG build up to what resulted in a goal.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
“No. One of us distracts the dragon. Two of us look.”
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
All that rickrack distracted from what was otherwise a fairly satisfying but predictable slate of wins.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2026
He’s distracted when he decides to race a comet: “We roared and thundered along side by side, both doing our level best, because I’d never struck a comet before that could lay over me.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
His ordinary folks freeze up and stop short of saying what they think or scream things they don’t mean, or get distracted from fixing a problem that wouldn’t even take much work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
I was distracted by the small things: people laughing, the spread of ages in attendance.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
The salesperson helping her was distracted when another customer asked a question.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
The debate has also been met with criticism from sceptics who say the focus on AI's hypothetical future risks distracting from more immediate concerns around the technology, such as its environmental impact.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
They did at least scramble a half point despite loud music being played by an on-course DJ clearly distracting Woad and Noh as they lined up their final putts.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Owens herself manages to do a bang-up job of distracting people from the way she doesn’t practice what she preaches.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
And then, are all these added elements distracting?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
But even had my tight throat been able to form the words, I feared distracting him, so I watched in anxious silence.
From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood
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.
