What does détour in French mean?

What is the meaning of the word détour in French? The article explains the full meaning, pronunciation along with bilingual examples and instructions on how to use détour in French.

The word détour in French means detour, digression, bend, curve, turn, diversion, in the course of, it's/that's worth going out of your way to see, make a detour, be worth the trip, worth going out of your way for, direct, directly, be worth the journey, be worth the detour. To learn more, please see the details below.

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Meaning of the word détour

detour

nom masculin (parcours allongé)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Nous avons fait un détour pour éviter les travaux dans le centre-ville. Ça ne te dérange pas te faire un détour pour me déposer chez moi, tu es sûr ?
We made a detour to avoid the roadworks in the city centre. Are you sure you don't mind making a detour to drop me at my place?

digression

nom masculin (figuré (digression)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
Le maire fit un grand détour avant d'en arriver au but.
The mayor made a long digression before getting to the point.

bend, curve, turn

nom masculin (tracé sinueux)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
C'est une jolie petite route pleine de détours.
It is a nice little road full of bends.

diversion

nom masculin (Can (déviation)

(noun: Refers to person, place, thing, quality, etc.)
La police a mis en place un détour à cause de l'accident.
The police have put a diversion in place due to the accident.

in the course of

(en passant par) (conversation)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
J'ai découvert ce magasin au détour d'une virée dans la ville d'à côté. Un magnifique panorama s'ouvre au détour de ce chemin.

it's/that's worth going out of your way to see

(cela mérite l'attention)

(expression: Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expression--for example, "behind the times," "on your own.")
Quel panorama ! Ça vaut le détour.

make a detour

locution verbale (passer au large, éviter)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

be worth the trip, worth going out of your way for

locution verbale (être intéressant à voir)

(intransitive verb: Verb not taking a direct object--for example, "She jokes." "He has arrived.")

direct

locution adverbiale (itinéraire : directement) (travel)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")

directly

locution adverbiale (figuré (franchement, ouvertement) (speak)

(adverb: Describes a verb, adjective, adverb, or clause--for example, "come quickly," "very rare," "happening now," "fall down.")

be worth the journey, be worth the detour

locution verbale (être intéressant à voir)

(verbal expression: Phrase with special meaning functioning as verb--for example, "put their heads together," "come to an end.")

Let's learn French

So now that you know more about the meaning of détour in French, you can learn how to use them through selected examples and how to read them. And remember to learn the related words that we suggest. Our website is constantly updating with new words and new examples so you can look up the meanings of other words you don't know in French.

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French (le français) is a Romance language. Like Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish, it comes from popular Latin, once used in the Roman Empire. A French-speaking person or country can be called a "Francophone". French is the official language in 29 countries. French is the fourth most spoken native language in the European Union. French ranks third in the EU, after English and German, and is the second most widely taught language after English. The majority of the world's French-speaking population lives in Africa, with about 141 million Africans from 34 countries and territories who can speak French as a first or second language. French is the second most widely spoken language in Canada, after English, and both are official languages at the federal level. It is the first language of 9.5 million people or 29% and the second language of 2.07 million people or 6% of the entire population of Canada. In contrast to other continents, French has no popularity in Asia. Currently, no country in Asia recognizes French as an official language.