sidetrack

[ sahyd-trak ]

/ ˈsaɪdˌtræk /

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See synonyms for: sidetrack / sidetracked on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object)

to move from the main track to a siding, as a train.

to move or distract from the main subject or course.

noun

any railroad track, other than a siding, auxiliary to the main track.

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Origin of sidetrack

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; side¹ + track

Words nearby sidetrack

side street, sidestroke, sideswipe, side table, side tone, sidetrack, side trip, side-valve engine, sidewalk, sidewalk artist, sidewalking

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use sidetrack in a sentence

Next to you is a signal switch that will divert the train down a sidetrack or “spur.”
Would You Kill the Fat Man? And Other Conundrums|Robert Herritt|December 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He'll be coming around to offer to sidetrack that legislation if you'll let him build his railroad.
Scattergood Baines|Clarence Budington Kelland
But circus er no circus, ye ain't a goin' to sidetrack me out'n them funeral arrangements.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
That's the kind of a sidetrack the Stars and Stripes would switch you onto.'
Roads of Destiny|O. Henry

Here on a sidetrack we found small coal-burning engines ready to help us over, small driving wheels but capable of great power.
An Artilleryman's Diary|Jenkin Lloyd Jones
Warring factions all about him, who tried in many ways to sidetrack him, failed in every attempt.
Crayon and Character: Truth Made Clear Through Eye and Ear|B.J. Griswold

British Dictionary definitions for sidetrack

sidetrack

/ (ˈsaɪdˌtræk) /

verb

to distract or be distracted from a main subject or topic

noun

US and Canadian a railway siding

the act or an instance of sidetracking; digression

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

sidetrack

Origin of sidetrack

Words nearby sidetrack

Words related to sidetrack

How to use sidetrack in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for sidetrack