divert

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
divert /dʌɪˈvəːt, dɪ-/

▶verb

• 1 cause to change course or take a different route.

• 2 reallocate (a resource) to a different purpose.

• 3 draw the attention of; distract or entertain.

– derivatives
diverting adjective,
divertingly adverb.

– origin ME: via Fr. from L. divers-, divertere, from di- ‘aside’ + vertere ‘to turn’.