distraction

«distraction» in Mova's school dictionary: Something that takes your attention away from what you… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (distraction, distractions)

meaning for a pupil

1) Something that takes your attention away from what you should be doing: «Phones are a distraction in class». tree →

2) Something fun that takes your mind off worries; an amusement. tree →

3) (formal) A state of great worry or confusion: «driven to distraction». tree →

sense in the lessons

At school: distractions such as noise, phones or chatting make learning hard; teachers remove distractions. Safety: distraction while crossing roads or driving causes accidents. In stories: a character may cause a distraction so another can escape. Phrases: «a welcome distraction», «drive someone to distraction», «cause a distraction», «without distraction».

examples

• Phones are a big distraction during homework. tree →
• The dog barking was a distraction during the test. tree →
• While Tom caused a distraction, Mia grabbed the key. tree →
• Playing football was a welcome distraction from his worries. tree →
• The noise from the road drives Mum to distraction. tree →
• Never let anything be a distraction when you cross the road. tree →
• We need a quiet room without distractions. tree →

note

Countable. Verb: «distract»; adjective: «distracted» (not paying attention). Do not confuse with «destruction» (destroying) or «detraction».

In the corpora

• Distractions, like a mate chatting, make listening harder, and moving away from them helps.
• Distractions were the real enemy.

Trees and pragmatics

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