To distract means to pull someone's attention away from what they're supposed to be focusing on. When your little brother keeps making faces while you're trying to read, he's distracting you. When a notification pops up on your screen during homework, it distracts you from your math problems.

A distraction is anything that draws your focus away: a funny noise during a test, a colorful bird outside the classroom window, or friends whispering during a presentation. Some distractions are accidental, but people can also distract others on purpose. A magician might distract the audience with one hand while doing a trick with the other.

While brief distractions are normal, constant distraction makes it hard to think deeply or do your best work. That's why teachers often remove distractions from classrooms and why you might study better in a quiet spot than in front of the television. When something truly matters, you want to give it your undivided attention rather than letting yourself become distracted.