detour 1 of 2

as in deviation
a turning away from a course or standard we'll regard this relapse as just a brief detour on your road to recovery from substance abuse

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detour

2 of 2

verb

1
as in to bypass
to avoid by going around we had to detour the construction zone in order to get to the stadium

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2
as in to deviate
to change one's course or direction we had to detour for a few miles around the section of highway under construction

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Examples Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of detour
Noun
The issue first arose at an October 11 hearing in Fort Worth, where O’Connor worked through the routine details of the plea deal before taking a sharp detour to ask why the Justice Department included DEI considerations in choosing a monitor. Evan Perez, CNN, 24 Oct. 2024 And after a rare blue-state detour in Coachella, California, on Sunday, Republican nominee former President Donald Trump will also return to battleground states in the coming days. Rachel Barber, USA TODAY, 14 Oct. 2024
Verb
The transcript of the audio is wide-ranging and bizarre, with Sterling detouring at one point to talk about the treatment of Black Jews in Israel to justify his own views on race. Hanif Abdurraqib, The New Yorker, 3 July 2024 Traffic will be detoured via I-471 and I-275 West to I-71/I-75 or via Ronald Reagan and I-75 South. Bebe Hodges, The Enquirer, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for detour 
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detour
Noun
  • There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.
    Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 4 Nov. 2024
  • Transcriptions of episodes of the Outside Podcast are created with a mix of speech recognition software and human transcribers, and may contain some grammatical errors or slight deviations from the audio.
    Outside Online, Outside Online, 30 Oct. 2024
Verb
  • The initiative amends the state penal code to allow prosecutors to bypass the $950 threshold that separates petty theft, a misdemeanor, from grand theft, a felony.
    Robert Salonga, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024
  • Read more Coronavirus Walking Pneumonia: Voters Warned To Take Precautions At Polls These proteins are also used as targets by immune systems and vaccinations, so changes in their structure can allow the virus to bypass the body's defenses more easily.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • But the ice giants deviate from their planetary brethren.
    Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Nov. 2024
  • This confession follows the recent season 14 reunion, which deviated from the traditional reunion.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • The departure follows months of disagreement over Super Micro Computer’s governance practices and board independence.
    Vinamrata Chaturvedi, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2024
  • Ross’s decision to retire was well-documented but Klineman informed the AVP of her imminent departure from volleyball just five days ago.
    Aaron Heisen, Orange County Register, 9 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • It's since gotten harder to circumvent, but there are still ways to get around the ban.
    Kate Irwin, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
  • And while these models have stronger guardrails built in to prevent misuse, many people have found ways to ‘jailbreak’ them, effectively circumventing these guardrails.
    Tharin Pillay, TIME, 5 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Pearsall turned upfield and raced Antoine Winfield Jr. down the sideline, stiff-arming the Tampa Bay safety and fighting off his tackle to reach the end zone just before being hauled out of bounds.
    Michael Nowels, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
  • Copied Share Bengals turn the ball over on downs Rohan Nadkarni The Bengals went 49 yards in 11 plays, but the Ravens stopped them on 4th-and-3.
    NBC News, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Scott crashed into another vehicle while attempting to avoid the shots.
    Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 7 Nov. 2024
  • The MacBook and Mac mini have traditionally avoided the iPhone's rainbow of color options, usually sticking to sedate bare metal and gray or silver finishes.
    Brian Westover, PCMAG, 7 Nov. 2024
Verb
  • Swing states nearby:Ohio neighbors Michigan, Pennsylvania could swing election.
    Mariyam Muhammad, The Enquirer, 5 Nov. 2024
  • Performers swing from lampposts suspended from above as pin-sharp projections turn the stage into city streets followed by a marble floor, a grassy landscape with autumn leaves blowing in the wind and an ocean which ripples.
    Caroline Reid, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detour. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

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