What does divert mean?
Divert means to turn something aside from its natural or intended course. The thing redirected may be physical — a river, a road's traffic, an aircraft — or abstract, such as money, resources, energy, or attention. A government might divert funds from defense to education; a suspect might try to divert police attention by raising a false alarm. Because redirecting money or effort away from its stated purpose often implies impropriety, the verb frequently carries a negative connotation in financial and political reporting, as in allegations that officials diverted public money for personal gain. Divert derives from Latin divertere, 'to turn in different directions,' and entered English via Old French in the early modern period. Its once-common sense of 'to entertain' — preserved in the British adjective 'diverting' — reflects the idea of turning one's mind away from cares. Related words include diversion, diverse, and divorce, all built on the Latin root vertere, 'to turn.'
To cause something to change course or be redirected toward a different destination, purpose, or recipient.
"Air traffic controllers diverted the flight to a nearby airport."
Commonly used with traffic, water, flights, funds, and resources.
To draw someone's attention away from something, especially deliberately.
"He tried to divert her attention by changing the subject."
(Chiefly British, somewhat dated) To entertain or amuse.
"The children were happily diverted by the puppet show."
This sense is largely restricted to British English and reads as old-fashioned today.
Every time your phone sends a call to voicemail, it's doing exactly what Roman engineers did with rivers: diverting the flow somewhere else.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of divert
Divert comes from Latin divertere, formed from dis- ('apart, in different directions') plus vertere ('to turn'). The word passed into English through Old French diverser or directly from Latin, becoming established by the early 17th century. It shares its root vertere with a large family of English words including convert, revert, invert, diverse, diversion, and divorce.
Related word forms
How divert is actually used
Divert carries a neutral register and appears frequently in formal contexts such as engineering, finance, and official statements. When applied to money or resources, it often carries a negative connotation, suggesting misuse of funds. The 'entertain' sense is now chiefly British and increasingly rare; 'diverting' as an adjective meaning 'amusing' survives mainly in British English.
Easily confused with divert
Distract means to draw someone's attention or concentration away from what they were doing, while divert more often refers to redirecting physical things (traffic, water, funds) toward another course — though both can apply to attention.