Distance is a scalar quantity that refers to "how much ground an object has covered" during its motion. Displacement is a vector quantity that refers to "how far out of place an object is"; it is the object's overall change in position.
Example
To test our understanding consider the motion where we walk 4 meters East followed by 2 meters South followed 4 meters West, and finally 2 meters North. In this case even though we walked a total distance of 12 meters but our displacement is 0 meters.
