diverted; diverting; diverts
: to turn aside : deviate
studied law but diverted to diplomacy
1
2
: to give pleasure to especially by distracting the attention from what burdens or distresses
children diverting themselves with their toys
Examples of divert in a Sentence
Police diverted traffic to a side street.
The stream was diverted toward the farmland.
They were charged with illegally diverting public funds for private use.
He lied to divert attention from the real situation.
They're only proposing the law to divert attention from important issues.
Recent Examples on the Web
Unlike a lot of Canadian petroleum products that arrive here via pipeline and is difficult to divert to another market, Mexican oil and gasoline arrives primarily via ship, so it can easily be sold elsewhere.
—
Chris Isidore, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025
The tariffs have not resulted in any oil supplies being taken off the market, and will result in a redistribution of supplies as Mexico and Canada look to divert their volumes to Europe and Asia, Lipow added.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Feb. 2025
On several occasions, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ordered the Pentagon to divert air defense interceptors from other countries to Ukraine, three senior U.S. officials said.
—Erin Banco, Anastasiia Malenko, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2025
After the accident, FAA air traffic controllers cleared additional airspace over the debris zone for more than an hour, rerouting, diverting, and delaying dozens of commercial aircraft.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for divert 
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Chris Isidore, CNN, 3 Feb. 2025
The tariffs have not resulted in any oil supplies being taken off the market, and will result in a redistribution of supplies as Mexico and Canada look to divert their volumes to Europe and Asia, Lipow added.
—Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Feb. 2025
On several occasions, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan ordered the Pentagon to divert air defense interceptors from other countries to Ukraine, three senior U.S. officials said.
—Erin Banco, Anastasiia Malenko, USA TODAY, 3 Feb. 2025
After the accident, FAA air traffic controllers cleared additional airspace over the debris zone for more than an hour, rerouting, diverting, and delaying dozens of commercial aircraft.
—Stephen Clark, Ars Technica, 1 Feb. 2025
See all Example Sentences for divert
Dictionary Entries Near divert
Cite this Entry
“Divert.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divert. Accessed 9 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Legal Definition
divert
transitive verb
di·vert
də-ˈvərt, dī- 
1
: to turn from one course or use to another
funds illegally diverted
2
: to place (a defendant) under a diversion
diverter
noun
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