Meaning & use
sidetracking
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“sidetracking” is a form of “sidetrack”.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Distracting someone or something from the main subject or task.
Grammar: Takes an object: sidetracking the meeting.
Patterns
- sidetrack someone
- sidetrack something
Stop sidetracking the discussion with unrelated stories.
Social media keeps sidetracking me when I try to study.
He apologized for sidetracking the team with a minor issue.
noununcountableinformal
The act of drifting away from the main topic or purpose.
Grammar: Often a mild criticism: too much sidetracking.
Patterns
- a lot of sidetracking
There was a lot of sidetracking in the staff meeting.
Avoid sidetracking if you want to finish the report today.
Word forms
| base form | sidetrack |
|---|---|
| third person singular | sidetracks |
| past tense | sidetracked |
Common combinations
- avoid sidetracking
- We tried to avoid sidetracking during the interview.
- constant sidetracking
- Constant sidetracking made the lesson run late.
- sidetracking the conversation
- She was sidetracking the conversation with jokes.
- keep sidetracking
- The kids keep sidetracking me from my work.
Synonyms and how they differ
- distracting
- Distracting is the general word, but sidetracking suggests pulling someone off a planned path.
- diverting
- Diverting is more formal and can refer to money or traffic as well.
- derailing
- Derailing suggests ruining the plan completely, but sidetracking may only delay it.
- digressing
- Digressing describes the speaker wandering off topic, not being pulled away by something else.
Opposites
Word family
- sidetrack verb
- to turn attention away from the main aim
- sidetracked adjective
- distracted from what you were doing
- track noun
- a path or course
Commonly confused: sidetracking or sideline?
sidetracking vs sideline
Sideline means to keep someone out of the main action, and is not about distraction.
Practice
I meant to finish my essay, but I got ___ by a long phone call.
Choose one answer.
Sidetracked means drawn away from the main task. Sidelined means pushed out of the action, which suggests exclusion rather than distraction.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sidetracking”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.