: a deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure
especially
: a roundabout way temporarily replacing part of a route
detoured; detouring; detours
: to proceed by a detour
detour around road construction
1
: to send by a circuitous route
detour traffic around an accident
2
: to avoid by going around : bypass
detour an accident site
Synonyms
Examples of detour in a Sentence
Noun
After a number of unexpected detours, we finally arrived at our destination.
The little restaurant is worth a detour.
We had to make a detour around the heaviest traffic.
We took a detour from the main streets.
The road is closed ahead, so traffic will have to follow the detour.
Verb
We detoured around the heaviest traffic.
A police officer was detouring traffic around the scene of the accident.
Traffic will be detoured to 72nd Street.
Recent Examples on the Web
Melvin Backman, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris made an unexpected detour to New York City, joining NBC's Saturday Night Live for the long-running comedy sketch show's final episode before Election Day.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
Detour Traffic will detour along the southbound Loop 101 frontage road.
—Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for detour 
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Noun
The musical Sunset Boulevard takes a brief detour outdoors during productions.
—Melvin Backman, Quartz, 8 Nov. 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris made an unexpected detour to New York City, joining NBC's Saturday Night Live for the long-running comedy sketch show's final episode before Election Day.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Nov. 2024
Verb
Motorists will be detoured via Elmore, Colerain, and Beekman streets to I-74 West and the Texas Turnaround at the Montana Avenue exit to I-74 East.
—Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 6 Nov. 2024
Detour Traffic will detour along the southbound Loop 101 frontage road.
—Olivia Rose, The Arizona Republic, 25 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for detour
Dictionary Entries Near detour
Cite this Entry
“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detour. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
detour
1 of 2 noun
de·tour
ˈdē-ˌtu̇(ə)r 
also di-ˈtu̇(ə)r
: a departure from a direct course or the usual procedure
especially
: a roundabout way temporarily replacing a regular route
detour
2 of 2 verb
: to send or proceed by a detour
detour traffic around an accident
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