detour

noun

de·tour | \ˈdē-ˌtu̇r also di-ˈtu̇r

Definition of detour

(Entry 1 of 2)

: a deviation from a direct course or the usual procedure especially : a roundabout way temporarily replacing part of a route

detour

verb

Definition of detour (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to proceed by a detour detour around road construction

transitive verb

1 : to send by a circuitous route detour traffic around an accident

2 : to avoid by going around : bypass detour an accident site

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about detour

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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: Noun

Most of these detours are fresh and funny; a few tried my patience. — Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Ralph Breaks the Internet is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but for the internet," 21 Nov. 2018 Readers discover revelations alongside the characters, with plenty of detours for scientific explanation, or backtracking to cover the specific history for a character. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "From the author of The Three-Body Problem," 15 Sep. 2018 Beach traffic on Las Olas Boulevard is going to be a congested nightmare of detours for the next three months. — Tonya Alanez, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Two-block closure on Las Olas will clog beach traffic for months," 5 July 2018 Singer has been the Gators’ top starter this year, Kowar the No. 2 and on a college path that included a couple of detours. — Blair Kerkhoff, kansascity, "Royals draft pick Jackson Kowar matches Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer in CWS gem," 19 June 2018 The tunings take on the character of detours into intriguing territories, familiar but fantastical. — Mark Swed, latimes.com, "A festival's final concert brings the microtonal outsiders in," 17 June 2018 Local access to businesses and residences on both roads, as well as parking on Massachusetts Avenue, will be maintained during construction with the help of detours, the state said. — Laney Ruckstuhl, BostonGlobe.com, "Replacement of Mass. Ave bridge in Back Bay underway," 11 May 2018 Beginning Wednesday, Uber is launching a new service, Express Pool, that aims to cut out the hassle of detours and backtracking on UberPool. — Faiz Siddiqui, Washington Post, "First came UberPool. Now there’s an even cheaper option, but it requires some extra effort.," 21 Feb. 2018 Lowell Observatory, which sits on a hill overlooking Flagstaff’s beautiful turn-of-the-century downtown, was an important first stop on our space history detour. — Melinda Fulmer, latimes.com, "A look at Flagstaff, Arizona, where Apollo 11 astronauts trained before landing on the moon," 1 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

The issue is primarily trucks going between Indiana and Illinois that detour around weigh stations. — Craig Lyons, Post-Tribune, "Lake County advances vehicle weight limit regulation," 5 July 2018 Those who used Van Blaricum Road between Cleves Warsaw and South Road have been forced to detour for about two miles from South Road to Cleves Warsaw Road and vice versa. — Jennie Key, Cincinnati.com, "West Side slide repair to start this summer," 8 June 2018 In Framingham, Route 9 at Exit 126 was also detoured due to minor flooding, said Framingham police spokeswoman Patricia Grigas. — Elise Takahama, BostonGlobe.com, "Heavy rain floods Boston roads, forces temporary road closures," 28 June 2018 Kids can control and detour the water and race toy ducks in it. — Linda Gandee/special To Cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Westlake agrees with other communities to share city pools for the summer; health fair and music festival coming," 14 May 2018 Westbound traffic will not be detoured, but drivers should slow through the work zone and use extreme caution. — Rosemarie Stein, OregonLive.com, "Portland Metro Tuesday Traffic: Nighttime road work on I-5 continues with ramps closed," 8 May 2018 Motorists were detoured away from the busy highway after 3 p.m. Residents say the site of the crash is a dangerous intersection with many crashes. — Max Londberg, kansascity, "Woman police suspect of driving impaired runs stop sign and causes fatal crash in KC | The Kansas City Star," 1 May 2018 Janesville and Forest Home traffic will be detoured onto Highway 100, then Layton Avenue, returning to Forest Home Avenue using a short leg of 84th Street. — Jane Ford-stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Drivers be aware: Forest Home and Janesville roads are closing in Hales Corners for three months," 11 July 2018 Traffic is being detoured to Exit 23, the Albany Street interchange, State Police wrote. — John R. Ellement, BostonGlobe.com, "Crash on ramp from highway snarls I-93 traffic in Boston," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'detour.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.