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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Example 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
Sean Baker’s movie was the crowd favorite since Cannes, and despite this season’s detours towards movies that were more formally ambitious or pushed the boundaries of good taste, Anora is where Oscar season ended up, and Best Actress was a natural extension of that film’s victory. Joe Reid, Vulture, 3 Mar. 2025 The idea was that the top Big Ten officials would make West Coast swings to work conference games with UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington, then detour to Mountain West schools along the way. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Mar. 2025
Verb
My parents inadvertently followed those ancient routes, leaving Mombasa for Oman in 1974, detouring up the coast of the Arabian Gulf via Sharjah, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi, and settling in Cyprus in the 1980s. Selina Denman, Condé Nast Traveler, 9 Nov. 2024 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 See All Example Sentences for detour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detour
Noun
  • For instance, sensors might detect increases in vibration or deviations in cut time which could signal potential issues.
    Cory McNeley, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025
  • Forecasts are for a slightly softer reading compared with January — meaning price growth would have slowed — but any deviation could ripple through markets.
    Rob Wile, NBC News, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Russia’s Defense Ministry said its air defenses had shot down 126 Ukrainian drones overnight, without saying how many drones bypassed its defenses.
    Nic Robertson, CNN, 15 Mar. 2025
  • Now, scientists at MIT have found a way to cut out the middle man, bypassing the stem cell step and going straight from one cell type to another.
    Michael Irving, New Atlas, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Between the lines: The company hasn't deviated from its pledge to go net-zero by 2050, Coben says.
    Alan Neuhauser, Axios, 12 Mar. 2025
  • To cover its tracks, the social media company allegedly deviated from usual practices and attempted to conceal the torrenting by using Amazon Web Services.
    Ashley Belanger, Ars Technica, 12 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • The Pixel 9 Pro was seen by many as a departure from the norm of having the highest specs only available with the larger phones.
    Ewan Spence, Forbes, 12 Mar. 2025
  • Related Articles Matthieu Blazy, Bottega Veneta’s creative director since 2021, announced his departure from the Italian label in December.
    Hannah Malach, WWD, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Trying to circumvent that process by removing or intimidating a judge – with violence or with impeachment – could endanger both judges and their families, and American democracy, experts and legal scholars say.
    Henry Gass, The Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar. 2025
  • But Consumer Reports was able to easily circumvent that restriction by simply playing an audio recording from a computer.
    Kevin Collier, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Her writing turned into role-playing in forums, and Twilight fandom gave way to a love of video games like Mass Effect.
    Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2025
  • What began as a neighborhood favorite quickly turned into a national obsession.
    Stephanie Gravalese, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • While the administration appears to be wanting to avoid past legal mistakes in its previous versions during Trump’s first mandate, court challenges are still expected.
    Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Also, avoiding the snooze button, which harms your sleep.
    Taylor Nicioli, CNN, 14 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Brianna seems to swing between two moods: intense enthusiasm, intense repugnance.
    Joyce Carol Oates, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Wilmore swung open the space station’s hatch and then rang the ship’s bell as the new arrivals floated in one by one and were greeted with hugs and handshakes.
    Marcia Dunn, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/detour. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

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