divert
Americanverb (used with object)
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diverts,
present (3rd person singular)
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diverted,
past participle, past
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diverting
present participle
verb (used without object)
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diverts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
diverted,
past participle, past
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diverting
present participle
verb
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to turn (a person or thing) aside from a course; deflect
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(tr) to entertain; amuse
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(tr) to distract the attention of
Synonym Usage
See amuse.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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diverternoun
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predivertverb (used with object)
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redivertverb (used with object)
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divertibleadjective
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divertingadjective
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divertiveadjective
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undivertedadjective
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undivertibleadjective
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divertedlyadverb
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divertinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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divertsimple
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divertssimple
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have divertedperfect
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has divertedperfect
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am divertingprogressive
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are divertingprogressive
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is divertingprogressive
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have been divertingperfect progressive
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has been divertingperfect progressive
Past
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divertedsimple
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had divertedperfect
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was divertingprogressive
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were divertingprogressive
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had been divertingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of divert
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin dīvertere, from dī- di- 2 + vertere “to turn”
Explanation
To divert means to shift or turn from one thing to another. A magician might attempt to divert your attention as he shoves the rabbit into the hat. The police will divert traffic if there has been an accident that blocks the road, and it's a good idea to divert some of your income into a savings account so you don't spend it all. Are you throwing a surprise party for a friend at his house? Have a neighbor divert him for a little while if he comes home early so that you can finish getting ready. While these uses concern physically guiding something to a different location, divert can also be used to mean "distract" or "entertain." If your friend can't stop worrying about her grades, you might want to divert her with the latest school gossip.
Vocabulary lists containing divert
The Outsiders
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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The Pearl
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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:
After decades of pollution and years of beach closures caused by raw sewage in the Tijuana River, San Diego County Supervisors approved a local plan to divert the river and treat it directly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
For India, however, sugar availability could improve next year if high prices prompt mills to divert less cane to ethanol.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
And severe cold in the United States -- now Europe's biggest single supplier -- could divert its supplies to domestic buyers.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
In Romania, authorities set off an explosion beside a river to divert much-needed water to a power plant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
"Little did I know," he said, "that one of my rescuers' wives was carefully feeding the Alsatians with potato crisps to divert their attention from the car."
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
It did strike me as odd, however, that “Tony” is forged on a factual alteration that diverts Tony from the kitchen far too often — the movie’s cardinal sin.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
Yet even the best projections can crumble if, say, a parent loses a high-paying job or diverts money from their own retirement account to fund a 529 plan.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 1, 2026
The petitioner suggests repurposing a building at nearby Chapelfield Gardens as a dovecote and source of food, in the hope it diverts pigeons away from the market.
From BBC ● Dec. 15, 2025
Williams was also told that some trading desks are reluctant to borrow from the SRF because it diverts financial resources they could otherwise devote to trading with regular clients, the people said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
He diverts off the path, feet disappearing into the drifting clouds of white.
From "X: A Novel" by Ilyasah Shabazz
Nearly three million tonnes is also expected to be diverted to ethanol production, leaving little room for any shortfall.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
However, investigations by the Treasury Department found that virtually all of the American and European parts were being diverted through Chinese intermediaries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
What happens here, mechanically speaking, is that liquidity is sucked out of the financial system and diverted to the real economy, in Howell’s words.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 14, 2026
Kazakhstan's cloud-seeding trials raised alarm in neighbouring Kyrgyzstan where fears were flagged of "cloud theft" -- alleging that rain clouds could be diverted to Kazakhstan, aggravating its own drought.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
It wasn’t very interesting, and while the grown- ups’ attention was diverted, I decided it was a good time to take action.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
One might think that diverting all that money and time toward a promotional stunt meant that Netflix believed in the film.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
Writer-director Jacob Chase, who previously made the 2020 horror film “Come Play,” downplays gore in favor of jump scares and mildly diverting set pieces.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
But the riches on offer risk diverting talent from other math-intensive fields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
He is accused of diverting $2 million in public funds to finance his first presidential campaign.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Still, Baliga knew that there was little hope of diverting Richard from the criminal justice system entirely.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
