Interrupt
/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/
Definitions
3 meaningsTo break into or stop the progress of something.
/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/
To stop the progress of something.
Please do not interrupt me while I'm speaking.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're telling a story, and someone keeps talking while you're talking. That person is interrupting you! It's like when your favorite TV show gets paused by a commercial.
👶 For kids: To stop something from happening.
More Examples
The sudden storm interrupted our picnic.
The phone call interrupted his concentration.
How It's Used
"He kept interrupting me during the presentation."
"The power outage interrupted the live broadcast."
To say or do something that stops someone while they are talking or doing something.
/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/
To cut off or break into someone's speech or action.
It's rude to interrupt someone when they're speaking.
💡 Simply: When you're in the middle of saying something, and someone jumps in with their own words, they're interrupting you! Like butting into a conversation.
👶 For kids: To say or do something that stops someone from talking.
More Examples
He often interrupted the teacher during class.
She tried not to interrupt, but she had to ask a question.
How It's Used
"She interrupted him with a question."
"He kept interrupting the meeting with irrelevant comments."
The act of breaking in on an activity or speech.
/ˌɪntəˈrʌpt/
An instance of interrupting or being interrupted.
There was a brief interruption during the broadcast.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're having a quiet moment, then a loud noise breaks the silence. That noise is the interruption!
👶 For kids: When something stops what you're doing.
More Examples
He apologized for the interruption.
The unexpected power outage caused an interruption of service.
How It's Used
"The presenter apologized for the interruption."
Synonyms
Break
Discontinue
Disrupt
Halt
Interfere
Cessation
Disruption
Disturbance
Antonyms
Idioms & expressions
interrupt a flow
To disrupt a natural sequence or progression.
"The loud noise interrupted the flow of the concert and it took some time to get the band back into their rhythm"
From Latin *interrumpere* 'to break between', from *inter-* 'between' + *rumpere* 'to break'.
The word has been used since the early 15th century, evolving from its Latin roots to describe a break or stoppage.
Memory tip
Think of 'rupt' as breaking. INTER-rupt means breaking into something.