A distraction was the act of diverting attention away from a desired focus.
The mummified remains of Vulcan master Haadok and two other Vulcans were dressed in ancient robes. Similar the Vulcan monks at the monastery at P'Jem were dressed in robes. Captain Jonathan Archer joked that their robes haven't been washed since the time of Surak while creating a distraction for the Andorians. (ENT: "The Andorian Incident")
In 2263 in the alternate reality, when Jaylah played the song "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys, Lieutenant commander Montgomery Scott described it as being both old-fashioned and loud and distracting, but Jaylah enjoyed the beats and the shouting. Later, when something was necessary to disrupt the signal link of the swarm ships, Captain James T. Kirk suggested something loud and distracting. Remembering the phrase, Scott told him he had just the thing and with Jaylah's help broadcasted "Sabotage," which Kirk called a good choice, as he was personally familiar with the song. (Star Trek Beyond)
In 2372, when Jadzia Dax and Worf engaged in a training exercise with a bat'leth and mek'leth, Worf succeeded in forcing Dax to surrender. He told her that the large size of the bat'leth often led to overconfidence and when she questioned his assertion of her being overconfident, he stated that she was, that she thought she could gain an advantage by distracting him with her outfit. She asserted that it was overconfident of him to think that she had worn it for him and then succeeded and putting her bat'leth against his throat, stating that he used his own tactics of distraction with all the shouting and growling he did. (DS9: "Sons of Mogh")
In 2374, Quark described Odo's love for Major Kira Nerys as a distraction for him and a distracted policeman being an opportunity. (DS9: "The Sound of Her Voice")
In 2375, when the crew of the USS Voyager found themselves in a vast, empty region of space known as the Void, Captain Kathryn Janeway facetiously expressed the desire to encounter a few Borg cubes as means of distraction from the seemingly endless expanse. (VOY: "Night")