v.
Pronunciation: di- ' trakt, d ē -
Function: verb
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin detractus, past participle of detrahere to pull down, disparage, from de- + trahere to draw
Date: 15th century
transitive verb
1 archaic : to speak ill of
2 archaic : to take away
3 : DIVERT < detract attention>
intransitive verb : to diminish the importance, value, or effectiveness of something ― often used with from <small errors that do not seriously detract from the book>
– de · trac · tor \ - ' trak-t ə r \ noun