Detoured

Detoured is the past tense and past participle of the verb detour. It describes the act of being redirected away from a planned or direct route, typically temporarily. In travel and transportation, a detoured route requires a traveler or vehicle to follow an alternate path. Detoured can be used to describe a person, vehicle, or object that has had its course altered by external instructions, obstacles, or events such as roadworks, traffic incidents, or weather conditions.

The word detour derives from the French détourner, meaning "to turn aside," with detour entering English in the late 16th century. The form detoured developed as the regular English past tense and past participle of detour.

In practical use, "we were detoured" or "we were detoured onto a side street" conveys temporary re-routing. Detours are common in road networks and are implemented through signage, barriers, and traffic management protocols. Planned detours appear in event planning or infrastructure projects, while unplanned detours arise after accidents or closures.

In navigation systems and robotics, detour strategies describe algorithms for re-planning routes to avoid hazards while minimizing delay or distance. In urban planning and civil engineering, detours may require temporary structures, new alignments, or realigned traffic flows to maintain safety and access during construction.

See also detour, reroute, diversion.