distract
Americanverb (used with object)
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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:
Lineage said in a statement Tuesday that the permit application “will not impact or distract us from the important work of cleanup,” which remains the company’s top priority.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
He has certainly not let the growing interest distract him, which won't come as a surprise to Luigi Pisino, who coached him at Servette's academy.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
“There are legitimate water quality threats that we need to attack and rectify in a regulatory manner. And then there are things that are out in the left field that just distract people,” Donley said.
From Salon ● Jul. 6, 2026
Adrian Aceves, a physician living in downtown Washington, said he'd be staying in with his five-year-old mutt Rosy, "trying to distract her with treats and toys, and I will medicate her."
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
The limp, in theory, would distract witnesses from noticing other details.
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Ultimately, the fixation on Hasan Piker distracts from more substantive issues.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
He added speculation about Sr Keir's leadership and constant rumours about who might replace him "distracts and detracts" from the job Labour MPs were trying to do.
From BBC ● Apr. 29, 2026
You know to turn the faucet in the bathroom off while rinsing out your swimsuit but something distracts you.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
“Who are we kidding, there is no chance that this print distracts investors from the ongoing circus,” Benchmark analyst Daniel L. Kurnos wrote in a research note last week.
From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026
It distracts me and I forget not just the gist of the conversation, but its entire direction as well.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
The document relied heavily on academic contributors, armchair intellectuals with zero industry experience, whose abstract theories distracted from the fundamental cause.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
Extreme weather in the days before the final including ferocious storms, plus flooding and smoke from Canadian forest fires distracted many in the Big Apple.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Despite the Belgium defeat, Balogun, who did not score in the game, does not feel it distracted Mauricio Pochettino's side.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
Today, however, social media may be helping to keep consumers distracted, the TD Cowen analysts said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
At this point, spirits were usually so distraught and distracted by their own eternal fate that they did not notice anything about him.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
And then, are all these added elements distracting?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
Vehicles now have too many buttons, switches, levers and touch-screen options, which are highly distracting for drivers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
As with UFOs, the press has generally played a gullible, distracting role, focusing on Terminator robots and AI-caused mass unemployment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
Mice viewed visual cues on a screen and were rewarded when they correctly responded to information displayed directly in front of them while ignoring distracting cues appearing off to the side.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 24, 2026
But she’d proved to be way too distracting, so I’d switched to Max.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
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.
