: 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
Miami Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
During the closure, detours were put in place to help drivers navigate congestion around the interchange and surrounding streets.
—Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Nov. 2025
Traffic passing through Linder would have to detour east to Park Lane, Vitta said.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for detour
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Noun
So, be aware of signs and detours that alert work in progress.
—Miami Herald, 22 Nov. 2025
During the closure, detours were put in place to help drivers navigate congestion around the interchange and surrounding streets.
—Morgan Rynor, CBS News, 21 Nov. 2025
Verb
Metro has detoured eight of 10 buses from one Government Square stop Downtown for more than a month at the direction of Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval.
—Patricia Gallagher Newberry, Cincinnati Enquirer, 18 Nov. 2025
Traffic passing through Linder would have to detour east to Park Lane, Vitta said.
—Idaho Statesman, 14 Nov. 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 28 Nov. 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
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