redirect

American

[ree-di-rekt, -dahy-] / ˌri dɪˈrɛkt, -daɪ- /

verb (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

Law. pertaining to the examination of a witness by the party who called them, after cross-examination.

redirect British

/ ˌriːdaɪ-, ˌriːdɪˈrɛkt /

verb

to direct (someone or something) to a different place or by a different route

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

redirection noun

Etymology

Origin of redirect

First recorded in 1835–45; re- + direct

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."

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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.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023