distract
Americanverb (used with object)
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distracts,
present (3rd person singular)
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distracted,
past participle, past
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distracting
present participle
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to draw away or divert, as the mind or attention.
The music distracted him from his work.
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to disturb or trouble greatly in mind; beset.
Grief distracted him.
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to provide a pleasant diversion for; amuse; entertain.
I'm bored with bridge, but golf still distracts me.
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to separate or divide by dissension or strife.
adjective
verb
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(often passive) to draw the attention of (a person) away from something
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to divide or confuse the attention of (a person)
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to amuse or entertain
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to trouble greatly
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to make mad
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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distracternoun
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distractibilitynoun
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distractibleadjective
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distractingadjective
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distractiveadjective
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nondistractingadjective
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undistractingadjective
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distractinglyadverb
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distractivelyadverb
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nondistractinglyadverb
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undistractinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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distractsimple
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distractssimple
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have distractedperfect
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has distractedperfect
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am distractingprogressive
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are distractingprogressive
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is distractingprogressive
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have been distractingperfect progressive
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has been distractingperfect progressive
Past
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distractedsimple
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had distractedperfect
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was distractingprogressive
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were distractingprogressive
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had been distractingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of distract
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Latin distractus “drawn apart,” past participle of distrahere “to draw apart,” from dis- dis- 1 + trahere “to draw”
Explanation
Distract is what you do when you draw someone’s attention — Hey! Look! Over there! Oh. Never mind. What was I saying? That’s right: distract is to draw attention away from what someone is doing. Distract comes from the Latin word for “draw apart.” It can be annoying when someone or something distracts you. A loud car alarm or a talkative friend might distract you when you’re watching your favorite TV show. But being distracted is not always bad. Playing a round of miniature golf might distract you from feeling sad about the death of your parakeet.
Vocabulary lists containing distract
List 3
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "D"
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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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.
See Examples For:
One Taiwan strategy involves using drones to distract China’s expensive precision weaponry, with the goal of creating gaps for Taiwan’s missiles to strike targets such as warships, one of the officials said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Maybe it will help distract people from gas prices, maybe only die-hards will care.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2026
Lineage said in a statement Tuesday that the permit application “will not impact or distract us from the important work of cleanup,” which remains the company’s top priority.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Supt Ben Martin tells us that the coursers had rampaged through the county deliberately, to distract police and send them to the wrong places.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
“It isn’t a race, you two. Head back to your seats and don’t distract your classmates, OK?”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Ultimately, the fixation on Hasan Piker distracts from more substantive issues.
From Salon ● May 2, 2026
The attacker's unusual position drags Van Dijk away from the right side of the pitch and distracts him as PSG build up to what resulted in a goal.
From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026
"Looking back and revisiting something that we already know about kind of relieves that anxiety, or it kind of just distracts us from all of the current changes that are happening."
From Barron's ● Apr. 8, 2026
“Having him represent us on the world stage distracts focus from our athletes and the enormous effort needed to prepare for 2028.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
I fix Boomer’s breakfast—nothing distracts him like food—and am sitting down to pour myself a bowl of cereal when I realize Lily is staring at me.
From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish
His ordinary folks freeze up and stop short of saying what they think or scream things they don’t mean, or get distracted from fixing a problem that wouldn’t even take much work.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Just when he’s got you disoriented and distracted, he strikes, boring you to death.
From Salon ● Sep. 2, 2026
It came after a 2022 study, external which showed that about a third of pupils in Scottish classrooms admitted they had been distracted by the devices.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Apparently, there’s also a nonzero chance he might get distracted from his day jobs, again.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
At Rockledge that afternoon, Zach can tell I’m distracted.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
They did at least scramble a half point despite loud music being played by an on-course DJ clearly distracting Woad and Noh as they lined up their final putts.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Owens herself manages to do a bang-up job of distracting people from the way she doesn’t practice what she preaches.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
The wicketkeeper at the time, who I won't name, ran on the spot very loudly in a distracting fashion as the bowler was running in.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
And then, are all these added elements distracting?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The forest was seething with an army of wild animals, distracting the robot, luring the terrible thing deeper into their trap.
From "The Wild Robot" by Peter Brown
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.
