Meaning of diversion in English

diversion

noun

/daɪˈvɜː.ʃən/ US

/dɪˈvɝː.ʃən/

diversion noun (CHANGE OF DIRECTION)

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[ C ] UK

(US detour)

a different route that is used because a road is closed:

Traffic diversions will be kept to a minimum throughout the festival.

[ C or U ]

the fact of something being sent somewhere different from where it was originally intended to go:

the diversion of money to other projects

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Changing direction

diversion noun (TAKING ATTENTION)

[ C ]

something that takes your attention away from something else:

Shoplifters often work in pairs, with one creating a diversion to distract the staff while the other steals the goods.

[ C ] formal

an activity you do for entertainment:

Reading is a pleasant diversion.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

diversion noun (LEGAL SYSTEM)

LAW US specialized

a system that allows someone to avoid having a permanent criminal record, or to avoid punishment as a criminal, if they complete a course of treatment or study:

Pretrial diversion is a program for certain first-time offenders to give them a chance to avoid being marked by a felony conviction for the rest of their lives.

The diversion program will remove a shoplifting incident from her daughter's record.

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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Related word

diversionary

(Definition of diversion from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

diversion | AMERICAN DICTIONARY

diversion

noun

/dɪˈvɜr·ʒən, dɑɪ-/

diversion noun (CHANGE OF DIRECTION)

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[ C/U ]

the act of causing something or someone to turn in a different direction, or to be used for a different purpose:

[ U ] A snowstorm closed the airport, and the diversion of air traffic was therefore necessary.

[ C ] diversions of money into other projects

diversion noun (ENJOYABLE ACTIVITY)

[ C ]

an action that takes attention away from something, esp. one that gives pleasure or enjoyment:

This lawyer-bachelor devoted his life to the Senate, his only real diversion being baseball.

(Definition of diversion from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

diversion | BUSINESS ENGLISH

diversion

noun [ C or U ]

/daɪˈvɜːʃən/ US

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the act of using something in a different way from what was originally planned:

There has been a diversion of resources away from new infrastructure projects.

COMMERCE

the act of selling goods in a market for which they were not intended, usually without the knowledge or permission of the original seller:

It is difficult for many states to prevent the diversion of arms to illicit markets.

(Definition of diversion from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

EXAMPLES of diversion

diversion

The fourth element was a survey of the opinions of senior managers and front-line practitioners in the study authorities about impediments to care-home diversions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Though diversions of this order are allowed, they are rare.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Unfortunately, the day-to-day life in the profession has a tendency to distract one from such basic research with a million little diversions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Is there a moral distinction to be drawn between horizontal and vertical diversions?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Other diversions come in the form of wanting to stay in lands in which he has become accustomed to and with people he knows.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Second, for senior managers, local policy factors and restrictions on the supply of relevant services compromised the ability of the funding change to enable diversions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

First, there were specific side issues or diversions, such as complaints about the appearance of real names in transcripts or examples from other fields (phases 1 and 3).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The city also holds out the hope of a better education for the migrants' children, urban facilities, modern consumer goods and a variety of cheap diversions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In its essentials it wasn't a diversion of any kind.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The great cultural diversion of the country, and the conflicts which this gave rise to, found expression in popular song.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The aggregate output supply and labor demand can be derived, using the same aggregation procedure we followed for the land diversion program.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Long-term historical change, however, should not be treated in terms of routes, incentives and destinations, with their implicit accompaniment of cul-de-sacs, diversions, and road blocks.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Strong evidence exists that diversions in these areas continue.

From the

Hansard archive

Fifty-one of these diversions were by civil aircraft and 260 by military aircraft.

From the

Hansard archive

A public inquiry was held into the development in 1992 and a further public inquiry was held into proposed diversions in 1995.

From the

Hansard archive

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

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