interrupt
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cause or make a break in the continuity or uniformity of (a course, process, condition, etc.).
- Synonyms:
- intermit
- Antonyms:
- continue
-
to break off or cause to cease, as in the middle of something.
He interrupted his work to answer the bell.
- Antonyms:
- continue
-
to stop (a person) in the midst of doing or saying something, especially by an interjected remark.
May I interrupt you to comment on your last remark?
- Synonyms:
- intermit
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
-
to break the continuity of (an action, event, etc) or hinder (a person) by intrusion
-
(tr) to cease to perform (some action)
-
(tr) to obstruct (a view)
-
to prevent or disturb (a conversation, discussion, etc) by questions, interjections, or comment
noun
Related Words
Interrupt, discontinue, suspend imply breaking off something temporarily or permanently. Interrupt may have either meaning: to interrupt a meeting. To discontinue is to stop or leave off, often permanently: to discontinue a building program. To suspend is to break off relations, operations, proceedings, privileges, etc., for a certain period of time, usually with the stipulation that they will be resumed at a stated time: to suspend operations during a strike.
Other Word Forms
- interruptedly adverb
- interruptedness noun
- interruptible adjective
- interruptive adjective
- interruptively adverb
- noninterruptible adjective
- noninterruptive adjective
- reinterrupt verb
- self-interrupting adjective
- uninterruptible adjective
- uninterrupting adjective
- uninterruptive adjective
Etymology
Origin of interrupt
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English interrupten, from Latin interruptus, past participle of interrumpere “to break apart,” equivalent to inter- “between, among, together” + rup-, variant stem of rumpere “to burst” + -tus past participle suffix; inter-, rupture
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the nearby West Bank city of Ramallah, 15 kilometres north of Jerusalem, Palestinians mostly carried on with life as usual, with markets in full swing and conversations only occasionally interrupted by overhead blasts.
From Barron's
“Before this matter proceeds any further,” Lemuel interrupted, “What is the girl’s sin? What is she required to repent of?”
From Literature
And as Mother Russia Mr. Turner is uproariously funny, interrupting the proceedings to rant and pontificate.
When an intern tells a patient that he believes kindness is the best medicine, J.D. tersely interrupts his blue-sky meliorism with a cold splash of reality.
From Salon
“Daisy,” I interrupted in a low voice, “is this old man a ghost or something?”
From Literature
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
