distractverb [ T ]
uk/dɪˈstrækt/us/dɪˈstrækt/B2 to make someone stop giving their attention to something:
Don't distract her (from her studies).
He tried to distract attention from his own illegal activities.
More examples
- The teacher had to separate the two friends because they tend to distract each other in class.
- Shoplifters often work in pairs, with one creating a diversion to distract the shop assistants while the other steals the goods.
- Can you stop tapping your foot please - it's distracting me while I'm working.
- Sorry, what were you saying? Something outside the window distracted me.
- If the TV is distracting you from your homework, turn it off.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Creating a distraction
- distraction
- diversion
- divert
- escape
- mind
- put
- put sb off (sth)
- put sb off their stride idiom
- put sb off their stride/stroke idiom
- sidetrack
- smoke and mirrors
- stride
- subject
- take
- take sb out of himself/herself
- take sb's mind off sth idiom
distracting
adjective uk/dɪˈstræk.tɪŋ/us/dɪˈstræk.tɪŋ/
Please turn your music down - it's very distracting.