sidetrack
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An alternate train of thought, issue, topic, or activity, that is a deviation or distraction from the topic at hand or central activity.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
sydtrakSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsaɪdtɹæk
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An alternate train of thought, issue, topic, or activity, that is a deviation or distraction from the topic at hand or central activity, and secondary or subordinate in importance or effectiveness.
verb
Wander from a direct or straight course
To divert or distract (someone) from a main issue or course of action with an alternate or less relevant topic or activity; or, to use deliberate trickery or sly wordplay when talking to (a person) in order to avoid discussion of a subject.
To sideline; to push aside; to divert or distract from, reducing (something) to a secondary or subordinate position.
intransitive
To deviate briefly from the topic at hand.
Word at a Glance
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An alternate train of thought, issue, topic, or activity, that is a deviation or distraction from the topic at hand or central activity, and secondary or subordinate in importance or effectiveness.
Used this way, sidetrack is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It suits considered writing and prepared speech.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Formal and precise
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.