distract

«distract» in Mova's school dictionary: To take someone's attention away from what they should be… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (distract, distracts, distracted, distracting)

meaning for a pupil

1) To take someone's attention away from what they should be doing or looking at. tree →

2) To make someone stop thinking about something sad or painful by getting them interested in something else. tree →

sense in the lessons

In school, phones, noise and chatting distract you from learning. In safety, drivers and cyclists must not be distracted; never distract a driver or someone crossing a road, and put your phone away when crossing. Tricksters and pickpockets sometimes distract people to steal. Phrases: «distract someone from», «get distracted», «easily distracted».

examples

• The noise outside distracted me from my maths. tree →
• Don't distract the bus driver. tree →
• I get distracted when the TV is on. tree →
• Dad distracted the baby with a toy so she stopped crying. tree →
• Put your phone away so it won't distract you when you cross the road. tree →
• One thief distracted the man while another took his wallet. tree →
• Try not to distract your partner during the test. tree →
• He felt puzzled and anxious; so he decided to ride into the country to distract his mind, and sent for his huntsmen and falconers. tree →

note

Past form: distracted. Noun: distraction. «Distracted» (adjective) = not paying attention. Being distracted near roads or water is a common cause of accidents.

In the corpora

• A worried mind keeps going back to the same thing, so worried adults can be distracted until the news comes.
• "Easily distracted" means the pupil does not pay attention.
• When you speak to a blind person, say who you are, and never distract a working guide dog.
• Use a fidget spinner or small toy in class only if the teacher allows it, because toys can distract you and others.
• Follow the school's rule about phones, usually switched off in your bag or handed in, because phones distract from lessons.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «distract» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.