sidetrack
[verb]
Synonyms: divert, deflect, distract

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

side‧track /ˈsaɪdtræk/ verb [transitive usually passive]

1. to make someone stop doing what they should be doing, or stop talking about what they started talking about, by making them interested in something else:
Don’t get sidetracked by the audience’s questions.

2. American English to delay or stop the progress of something:
An effort to improve security was sidetracked by budget problems.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲