- 1[countable, uncountable] a thing that takes your attention away from what you are doing or thinking about I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. cinema audiences looking for distraction Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveunwanted, good, nice, … verb + distractioncause, create, provide, … prepositionwithout distraction, distraction from phrasesdrive somebody to distraction, love somebody to distraction See full entry
- 2[countable] an activity that amuses or entertains you Word Originlate Middle English: from Latin distractio(n-), from the verb distrahere, from dis- ‘apart’ + trahere ‘to draw, drag’.Extra examples Her odd appearance is a major distraction whenever she is on screen. My kids drive me to distraction at times. She caused a distraction by setting off the alarm. She worked hard all morning, without distraction. The TV provided a distraction from his work. Work was a welcome distraction from her problems at home. new laws to address driver distraction caused by phone conversationsIdioms
so that you become upset, excited or angry, and not able to think clearly The children are driving me to distraction today. She was alone in the house all day and bored to distraction.
Check pronunciation: distraction
