dis|tract /d I stræ kt/ (distracts , distracting , distracted ) VERB If something distracts you or your attention from something, it takes your attention away from it. □ [V n + from ] Tom admits that playing video games sometimes distracts him from his homework. □ [be V -ed] Don't let yourself be distracted by fashionable theories. □ [V n] A disturbance in the street distracted my attention.
dis|tract|ed /d I stræ kt I d/ ADJ If you are distracted , you are not concentrating on something because you are worried or are thinking about something else. □ She had seemed curiously distracted. ● dis|tract|ed|ly ADV [ADV with v] □ He looked up distractedly. 'Be with you in a second.'
dis|tract|ing /d I stræ kt I ŋ/ ADJ If you say that something is distracting , you mean that it makes it difficult for you to concentrate properly on what you are doing. □ It's distracting to have someone watching me while I work.
dis|trac|tion /d I stræ kʃ ə n/ (distractions )
1 N‑VAR A distraction is something that turns your attention away from something you want to concentrate on. □ Total concentration is required with no distractions.
2 N‑COUNT A distraction is an activity which is intended to entertain and amuse you. □ Their national distraction is going to the disco.
3 PHRASE If you say that something or someone drives you to distraction , you are emphasizing that they annoy you a great deal. [EMPHASIS ] □ A very clingy child can drive a parent to distraction.
dis|traught /d I strɔː t/ ADJ If someone is distraught , they are so upset and worried that they cannot think clearly. □ His distraught parents were being comforted by relatives.
dis|tress /d I stre s/ (distresses , distressing , distressed )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Distress is a state of extreme sorrow, suffering, or pain. □ Jealousy causes distress and painful emotions.
2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft in N ] Distress is the state of being in extreme danger and needing urgent help. □ He expressed concern that the ship might be in distress.
3 VERB If someone or something distresses you, they cause you to be upset or worried. □ [V n] The idea of Toni being in danger distresses him enormously.
dis|tressed /d I stre st/ ADJ If someone is distressed , they are upset or worried. □ I feel very alone and distressed about my problem.
dis|tress|ing /d I stre s I ŋ/ ADJ If something is distressing , it upsets you or worries you. □ It is very distressing to see your baby attached to tubes and monitors. ● dis|tress|ing|ly ADV [usu ADV adj] □ …a distressingly large bloodstain.
dis|trib|ute /d I str I bjuːt/ (distributes , distributing , distributed )
1 VERB If you distribute things, you hand them or deliver them to a number of people. □ [V n] Students shouted slogans and distributed leaflets. □ [be V -ed + among ] In the move most of the furniture was left to the neighbours or distributed among friends.
2 VERB When a company distributes goods, it supplies them to the shops or businesses that sell them. [BUSINESS ] □ [V n] We didn't understand how difficult it was to distribute a national paper.
3 VERB If you distribute things among the members of a group, you share them among those members. □ [V n + among ] After his election he distributed major offices among his friends and supporters. [Also V n]
4 VERB To distribute a substance over something means to scatter it over it. [FORMAL ] □ [V n + over ] Distribute the topping evenly over the fruit.
5 → see also distributed
dis|trib|ut|ed /d I str I bjuːt I d/ ADJ [adv ADJ ] If things are distributed throughout an area, object, or group, they exist throughout it. □ These cells are widely distributed throughout the body.
dis|tri|bu|tion ◆◇◇ /d I str I bjuː ʃ ə n/ (distributions )
1 N‑UNCOUNT The distribution of things involves giving or delivering them to a number of people or places. □ [+ of ] …the council which controls the distribution of foreign aid. □ …emergency food distribution.
2 N‑VAR The distribution of something is how much of it there is in each place or at each time, or how much of it each person has. □ [+ of ] …a more equitable distribution of wealth. SYNONYMS distribution NOUN
1
delivery: …the delivery of goods and resources.
shipping: It is $39.95 plus $3 shipping.
transport: Local production virtually eliminates transport costs.
2
rationing: The municipal authorities here are preparing for food rationing.
division: The current division of labor between workers and management will alter.
allocation: His sons quarrelled bitterly over the allocation of family resources.
dis|tri|bu|tion|al /d I str I bjuː ʃənəl/
1 ADJ [ADJ n] Distributional means relating to the distribution of goods. □ What they're doing is setting up distributional networks.
2 ADJ [ADJ n] Distributional effects and policies relate to the share of a country's wealth that different groups of people have. [FORMAL ] □ …the distributional effects of free markets, which lead to inequalities in income.
dis|tribu|tive /d I str I bjuːt I v/ ADJ [ADJ n] Distributive means relating to the distribution of goods. □ Reorganization is necessary on the distributive side of this industry.