detour

Everyday

1. A longer or different way you take to avoid something, such as a closed road or traffic. tree →
2. A trip off your main route to visit somewhere, as in «make a detour to see the waterfall». tree →
3. (verb) To go a different way, or to send traffic a different way. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life: road signs say «Detour» (US) or «Diversion» (UK). In maths problems about journeys, a detour adds extra distance: if the normal route is 10 km and the detour adds 3 km, the trip is 13 km. In stories, a detour often leads to an adventure. Phrases: «take a detour», «make a detour».

Examples

• The bridge was closed, so we took a detour. tree →
• We made a detour to see the lighthouse. tree →
• The detour added 5 miles to our journey. tree →
• Traffic was detoured around the parade. tree →
• The story goes off on a detour about the hero's childhood. tree →
• Follow the detour signs to get to school. tree →

Note

In UK English the road sign usually says «Diversion»; «detour» is common in the USA, Canada and Australia. Said «DEE-toor». From French «détour», a turning aside.