diverted; diverting; diverts
: to turn aside : deviate
studied law but diverted to diplomacy
1
2
: to give pleasure to especially by distracting the attention from what burdens or distresses
children diverting themselves with their toys
Examples of divert in a Sentence
Police diverted traffic to a side street.
The stream was diverted toward the farmland.
They were charged with illegally diverting public funds for private use.
He lied to divert attention from the real situation.
They're only proposing the law to divert attention from important issues.
Recent Examples on the Web
These hormones also divert energy away from other parts of the body, such as the immune system and digestive system.
—
Katia Hetter, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
The oddness started last Friday, when United had to divert a flight after one of the airline’s toilets overflowed into the cabin midflight.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Williams was a key witness at Chauvin’s state trial and sparred with Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, who attempted to portray bystanders, including an off-duty firefighter, as an angry mob that diverted the officers’ attention.
—Janelle Griffith, NBC News, 1 Apr. 2024
Iran's most powerful affiliated militia is Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has been engaged in fighting with Israel across the two countries' borders since the start of the war, to divert Israeli military resources from the war in Gaza.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
Cargo carriers such as Maersk and Evergreen have begun diverting container ships to ports in New York, New Jersey and Norfolk.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
But the Supreme Court struck down the GOP’s efforts and ruled that public tax dollars must be spent only on common, interpreted as public, schools and cannot be diverted to private or charter schools.
—Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2024
First, will an industrial policy for the life sciences lead to public investments being diverted to serve private interests?
—James C. Robinson, STAT, 29 Mar. 2024
The florid accusations against Ukraine and the West — combined with authorities’ public flaunting of ferocious retaliation such as cutting off part of one suspect’s ear — are probably calculated to divert attention from intelligence lapses that led to the attack, longtime Russia watchers said.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
Katia Hetter, CNN, 4 Apr. 2024
The oddness started last Friday, when United had to divert a flight after one of the airline’s toilets overflowed into the cabin midflight.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 2 Apr. 2024
Williams was a key witness at Chauvin’s state trial and sparred with Chauvin’s attorney, Eric Nelson, who attempted to portray bystanders, including an off-duty firefighter, as an angry mob that diverted the officers’ attention.
—Janelle Griffith, NBC News, 1 Apr. 2024
Iran's most powerful affiliated militia is Lebanon's Hezbollah, which has been engaged in fighting with Israel across the two countries' borders since the start of the war, to divert Israeli military resources from the war in Gaza.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 1 Apr. 2024
Cargo carriers such as Maersk and Evergreen have begun diverting container ships to ports in New York, New Jersey and Norfolk.
—David J. Lynch, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2024
But the Supreme Court struck down the GOP’s efforts and ruled that public tax dollars must be spent only on common, interpreted as public, schools and cannot be diverted to private or charter schools.
—Hannah Pinski, The Courier-Journal, 29 Mar. 2024
First, will an industrial policy for the life sciences lead to public investments being diverted to serve private interests?
—James C. Robinson, STAT, 29 Mar. 2024
The florid accusations against Ukraine and the West — combined with authorities’ public flaunting of ferocious retaliation such as cutting off part of one suspect’s ear — are probably calculated to divert attention from intelligence lapses that led to the attack, longtime Russia watchers said.
—Laura King, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'divert.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near divert
Cite this Entry
“Divert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divert. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
divert
transitive verb
di·vert
də-ˈvərt, dī- 
1
: to turn from one course or use to another
funds illegally diverted
2
: to place (a defendant) under a diversion
diverter
noun
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