interrupt
/ˌɪntəˈɹʌpt/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.61 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
9
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
verb
To disturb or halt (an ongoing process or action, or the person performing it) by interfering suddenly, especially by speaking.
Example Sentences
- "A maverick politician repeatedly interrupted the debate by shouting."
- "Do not interrupt me in my course."
- "One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable."
- "The evenness of the road was not interrupted by a single hill."
- "The packet receiver circuit interrupted the microprocessor."
- "The interrupt caused the packet handler routine to run."
Etymology
From Middle English interrupten, derived from Latin interruptus, past participle of interrumpere (“to break apart/off, interrupt”), from inter (“between”) + rumpere (“to break”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *Hrewp-, interrupten, interruptus
Usage
Inflected Forms
interrupts (present, singular)
interrupting (participle, present)
interrupted (participle, past)
interrupted (past)
interrumpt (alternative, obsolete)
interroupt (alternative, obsolete)
interrout (alternative, obsolete)
interrupts (plural)
Derived Forms
Phrases
interrupt request
self-interrupt
those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those doing it
interrupt handler
interrupt storm