redirect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to direct again.
-
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
- redirection noun
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.
Consultants and other senior doctors deployed in A&E are able to assess quickly whether patients need urgent treatment or whether it is safe to redirect them to other community health services.
From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026
Parents who are stressed about money can redirect conversations with their kids to “decision-making and agency,” he said.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 4, 2026
"The less fuel we use in the cities obviously the more we can redirect to regionals areas that are under pressure," he told reporters in Canberra.
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
OpenAI is in the middle of a strategy shift to redirect the company’s computing resources and top talent toward so-called productivity tools that can be used by both enterprises and individual users.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026
Mark Antony, ready to redirect his attention to the Parthian campaign, moved his family to Athens to set up his headquarters.
From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby
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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.