: 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
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
Ryan Deto, Axios, 27 Feb. 2025
Trimming a couple of those detours from the midsection would improve the overall pacing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024
Southbound traffic on Biscayne will be detoured at Northeast First Street and may continue south at Southeast Second Avenue.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detour
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is eliminating an annoying detour at one of its busier interchanges.
—Ryan Deto, Axios, 27 Feb. 2025
Trimming a couple of those detours from the midsection would improve the overall pacing.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Feb. 2025
Verb
Meanwhile, traffic on Seventh Street will be detoured to Eighth Street with only local traffic allowed on Seventh between Poplar and Cypress, according to a separate map provided by the Police Department.
—Nwa Democrat-Gazette, arkansasonline.com, 9 Dec. 2024
Southbound traffic on Biscayne will be detoured at Northeast First Street and may continue south at Southeast Second Avenue.
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detour
Cite this Entry
“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/detour. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share