redirect
Americanverb (used with object)
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redirects,
present (3rd person singular)
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redirected,
past participle, past
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redirecting
present participle
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to direct again.
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to change the direction or focus of.
He redirected the children's energies toward building a sand castle instead of throwing sand at each other.
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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redirectsimple
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redirectssimple
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have redirectedperfect
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has redirectedperfect
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am redirectingprogressive
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are redirectingprogressive
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is redirectingprogressive
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have been redirectingperfect progressive
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has been redirectingperfect progressive
Past
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redirectedsimple
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had redirectedperfect
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was redirectingprogressive
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were redirectingprogressive
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had been redirectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of redirect
Explanation
When you redirect something, you point it in a different direction. If your dog keeps licking your friends' knees, you might have to redirect her attention to a squeaky toy. Beavers can famously redirect the flow of water in a stream or river by building dams that divert the flow in a new direction. The very best elementary school teachers are experts at redirecting the attention of young kids, like when a music teacher redirects a class's energy into an enthusiastic round of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat." The direct part of redirect comes from the Latin dirigere, "set straight."
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:
But I’d like to gently intercept your hand on the way there and redirect it toward wherever you keep your vinegar.
From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026
Last week, shares of companies like Charles Schwab, LPL Financial and JP Morgan slumped on the concern that agents—such as Meta’s Muse—could be used to automatically redirect customers’ cash toward accounts with higher yields.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Over time, the council tweaked Porchfest to ease pressure on Princeton’s immediate downtown area and redirect attendees to other neighborhoods and local businesses.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
Roberts argued there was a "very big opportunity" for manufacturers to redirect skills, factories and investment into the UK's expanding aerospace and defence sectors.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
“They’ll do that...that thing they do where they just redirect us around a train.”
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
Slowing upfront model training doesn’t stop that loop, and arguably just redirects compute budgets elsewhere, the analysts say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
It may also depend on how the brain controls, redirects, or adapts its response to that pathology.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Software stocks could recover by developing their own AI products or if a slowdown in AI infrastructure spending redirects investment back to the sector.
From Barron's ● Jan. 15, 2026
Effective leadership redirects that attention outward toward customers, purpose and shared impact.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 18, 2025
It redirects our attention to the great source and fountainhead of human life.
From The Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger
That result redirected their attention toward the axon's physical properties.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
Some capacity could be redirected toward safety testing, improving models and serving customers, but those workloads may not replace curtailed frontier training dollar for dollar.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026
The fund follows William's decision to stop personally benefiting from the £1.5m annual rent generated by Dartmoor Prison, with the funding redirected into the local community.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Locals redirected the Allies to nearby Licata and told them about “beach minefields, maritime conditions, and port-installation booby traps.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
Jess quickly redirected my attention and guided me to where we would be sitting.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
The PM's spokesman insisted the policy would be funded by redirecting "savings" identified by departments to cover the cost of the ID scheme.
From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026
These actions included things like changing the title on bank accounts and other property, redirecting household bills, canceling credit cards, consolidating retirement accounts, making Roth conversions and giving away money.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
The city has “exceeded expectations” in food recovery, he said, saving 80 million meals that would have been thrown out and redirecting them to people in need.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
While many of the videos AFP examined are no longer live, other accounts are still sharing the AI-generated clips redirecting users to products.
From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026
“Ron, you’re making it snow,” said Hermione patiently, grabbing his wrist and redirecting his wand away from the ceiling from which, sure enough, large white flakes had started to fall.
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
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.
