deflection

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun The act of deflecting or the condition of being deflected.
• noun Sports A shot or pass that is sent without stopping in a different direction by a second offensive player.
• noun Deviation or a specified amount of deviation.
• noun The deviation of an indicator of a measuring instrument from zero or from its normal position.
• noun The movement of a structure or structural part as a result of stress.

from The Century Dictionary.

• noun The act of turning or the state of being turned aside from a straight line or course; a turning from a true line or the regular course; deviation.
• noun Figuratively, deviation from the right, regular, or expected course of action or thought; aberration.
• noun Specifically Nautical, the deviation of a ship from her true course in sailing.
• noun In optics, a deviation of the rays of light toward the surface of an opaque body; inflection. See diffraction.
• noun In electricity, the deviation or swing of a magnetic needle from the zero of its position: often measured in degrees.
• noun In mathematics: The distance by which a curve departs from another curve, or from a straight line.
• noun Any effect either of curvature or of discontinuous change of direction.
• noun In mech., the bending of material under a transverse strain, as of a beam under the weight of a load.
• noun In entomology: The state of being bent downward: as, a deflection of the side of the pronotum.
• noun A deflected part or margin.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• noun The act of turning aside, or state of being turned aside; a turning from a right line or proper course; a bending, esp. downward; deviation.
• noun (Gunnery) The deviation of a shot or ball from its true course.
• noun (Opt.) A deviation of the rays of light toward the surface of an opaque body; inflection; diffraction.
• noun (Engin.) The bending which a beam or girder undergoes from its own weight or by reason of a load.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun The act of deflecting or something deflected.
• noun The deviation of a needle or other indicator from its previous position.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun the amount by which a propagating wave is bent
• noun a twist or aberration; especially a perverse or abnormal way of judging or acting
• noun a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern)
• noun the property of being bent or deflected
• noun the movement of the pointer or pen of a measuring instrument from its zero position