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:
Growers cannot easily redirect fruit to alternative markets because importing countries have different phytosanitary requirements and consumer preferences, said Gerrit van der Merwe, the association's chairman.
From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026
These uses would build on the device's demonstrated ability to redirect external heat while keeping the protected region thermally stable.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
Evans immediately interjects, trying to halt and redirect the conversation.
From Salon ● Oct. 17, 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
Lily strays toward a dessert table already crowded with cookies and brownies, but I grab her hand and redirect her toward Aunt Melissa.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
This was imagined more than a decade ago by then-Oxford philosopher Nick Bostrom, where an AI is given the goal of maximizing paper-clip output and redirects the entire global economy into paper-clip production.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026
It may also depend on how the brain controls, redirects, or adapts its response to that pathology.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 26, 2026
Thompson, who gained notoriety for his role winning a rape conviction against Harvey Weinstein, purchased the rights to the domain name “patconnolly4judge.com,” which now redirects to one of the commission’s admonishments of Connolly.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 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
It redirects our attention to the great source and fountainhead of human life.
From The Pivot of Civilization by Margaret Sanger
But if it merely redirected people who would have booked through Douyin anyway, he wasn’t interested.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026
"There was poor preparation," said Gareth Tovey, executive council member for Wales, explaining they redirected specialist crews such as water teams to the wildfires.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
This would include examining courses with low enrollment and deciding whether participation can be increased or if money should be redirected to where it’s more needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
That result redirected their attention toward the axon's physical properties.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 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
Instead of simply redirecting incoming heat, a future cloak would need to concentrate, distribute, or guide thermal energy as conditions change.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2026
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
Commerce’s undersecretary for security, Alan Estevez, started the bureaucratic process for the blacklist, but got a call redirecting the path.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 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
“In sympathy, most of what you are doing is redirecting energy. Sympathetic links are how the energy travels.”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
