sidetrack
US/ˈsaɪdˌtɹæk/
sidetrack noun: a second, relatively short length of track just to the side of a railroad track, joined to the main track by switches at one or both ends, used either for unloading freight, or to allow two trains on a same track to meet (opposite directions) or pass (same direction); a railroad siding.
Noun
sidetrack (plural sidetracks)
- A second, relatively short length of track just to the side of a railroad track, joined to the main track by switches at one or both ends, used either for unloading freight, or to allow two trains on a same track to meet (opposite directions) or pass (same direction); a railroad siding.
- Any auxiliary railroad track, as differentiated from a siding, that runs adjacent to the main track.
- A smaller tunnel or well drilled as an auxiliary off a main tunnel or well.
- 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.
- Stay focused on the story; you keep getting lost in all of these little sidetracks.
- "However, I am down a side-track. What I wanted to say to you is that you must not take Bolsover's little spirit circus too seriously."1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
Verb
sidetrack (third-person singular simple present sidetracks, present participle sidetracking, simple past and past participle sidetracked)
- To divert (a locomotive or train) on to a lesser used track in order to allow other trains to pass.
- It was just after 5 p.m.; would the non-stop "Capitals Limited" come up next? It was due in at 5.30 and other trains are often side-tracked in its favour.1951 January, R. A. H. Weight, “A Railway Recorder in Essex and Hertfordshire”, in Railway Magazine, page 46
- Two westbound freights were in the vicinity and the operator was kept busy passing them radio messages with the latest information on the late running of the streamliners, to allow the enginemen to keep moving until the last possible minute before they had to sidetrack their trains to let the fast...1961 July, J.Geoffrey Todd, “Impressions of railroading in the United States: Part Two”, in Trains Illustrated, page 423
- 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.
- Sorry I'm late. I got sidetracked helping my friend move some furniture.
- The politician sidetracked the reporter with a story about duck hunting instead of a direct response to the question that was asked.
- To sideline; to push aside; to divert or distract from, reducing (something) to a secondary or subordinate position.
- The project was sidetracked in favor of a more popular program.
- He has sidetracked this debate for far too long.
- To deviate briefly from the topic at hand.
- Just to sidetrack a little bit from the subject I will explain my reasoning.
- To sidetrack for a moment, let me commend this team for their outstanding efforts.
- Synonyms:
- digress
sidetrack meaning in Tamil and Malayalam
sidetrack in Tamil
- திசை திருப்பு, பக்கப்பாதை
sidetrack in Malayalam
- divert, distract, deflect
- തിരിച്ചുവിടുക, വ്യതിചലിപ്പിക്കുക, ശ്രദ്ധ തെറ്റിക്കുക, വ്യതിയാനം ചെയ്യിക്കുക, നേർവഴിയിൽ നിന്നു തിരിച്ചുവിടുക, ഭ്രംശിപ്പിക്കുക
Examples of sidetrack in a sentence
- Efforts to amend the law got sidetracked in an administrative logjam.
- I mean bigheads who are sidetracked by stuff away from football.'
- Hmmm somehow I manage to sidetrack from Arjuna's crafty strategy to the ICC management of cricket grounds?
Synonyms of sidetrack
Forms of sidetrack
| Noun | |
|---|---|
| plural | sidetracks |
| alternative form | side-track |
| alternative form | side track |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | sidetracks |
| present participle | sidetracking |
| past participle | sidetracked |
| past | sidetracked |
Origin of sidetrack
From side + track.
Words formed from sidetrack
Questions about sidetrack
- What does sidetrack mean?
- Sidetrack means a second, relatively short length of track just to the side of a railroad track, joined to the main track by switches at one or both ends, used either for unloading freight, or to allow two trains on a same track to meet (opposite directions) or pass (same direction); a railroad siding.
- What is sidetrack in Tamil?
- Sidetrack in Tamil is திசை திருப்பு, பக்கப்பாதை. See Sidetrack meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is sidetrack?
- Sidetrack can be a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce sidetrack?
- Sidetrack is pronounced /ˈsaɪdˌtɹæk/ (US).
- What is the plural of sidetrack?
- The plural of sidetrack is sidetracks.
Words near sidetrack in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sidetrack (page history and authors); sidetrack (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); sidetrack (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-sidetrack.wav.
Cite this entry: “sidetrack.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sidetrack. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.