Meaning of “divert” in the English Dictionary

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"divert" in English

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divertverb [ T ]

uk ​ /daɪˈvɜːt/ us ​ /dɪˈvɝːt/

divert verb [ T ] (CHANGE DIRECTION)

C2 to cause something or someone to change direction:

Traffic will be diverted through the side streets while the main road is resurfaced.
Our flight had to be diverted to Newark because of the storm.

› to use something for a different purpose:

Should more funds/money/resources be diverted from roads into railways?

Thesaurus: synonyms and related words

(Definition of “divert” from the Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

"divert" in American English

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divertverb [ T ]

us ​ /dɪˈvɜrt, dɑɪ-/

divert verb [ T ] (CHANGE DIRECTION)

› to cause something or someone to turn in a different direction:

Our flight was diverted from San Francisco to Oakland because of the fog.

› To divert something or someone is also to cause the thing or person to be used for a different purpose:

The administration had to divert funds from the defense budget to pay for the emergency relief effort.

divert verb [ T ] (TAKE ATTENTION AWAY)

› to take attention away from something:

Military action now could divert attention from imminent votes in Congress on health-care legislation.

› fml To divert can also mean to amuse:

The dog kept the children diverted for a while.

(Definition of “divert” from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

"divert" in Business English

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divertverb [ T ]

uk ​ /daɪˈvɜːt/ us ​

› to use something such as money for a purpose that is different from the main one or the one that was originally planned:

divert sth to sb/sth Mutuals tend to pay out more than quoted insurers because they do not have to divert a chunk of their profits to shareholders.
divert sth from sth to/into sth The company is to divert resources from its traditional retail interiors operation into its furniture business.

› to take a person's or people's attention away from something so that they think about something else:

The news of his appointment diverted attention from a 20% fall in pretax profit.

› COMMERCE to sell goods or services in a different place from the place where it was planned that they should be sold:

If you see a hair care product that you think may be an illegally diverted product, call the brand manufacturer right away.

› TRANSPORT to change the way that goods are sent or the place that they are sent to:

Many of the shipments have been diverted from air to rail.
Shipping lines were considering diverting their vessels to other major Japanese ports to unload cargo.

› COMMUNICATIONS to arrange for phone calls to go directly to another number:

A phone can be set to divert a call when the line is busy.

Phrasal verb(s)

divert sb from sth

(Definition of “divert” from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of “divert”
 
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