intermission
Americannoun
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a short interval between the acts of a play or parts of a public performance, usually a period of approximately 10 or 15 minutes, allowing the performers and audience a rest.
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a period during which action temporarily ceases; an interval between periods of action or activity.
They studied for hours without an intermission.
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the act or fact of intermitting; state of being intermitted.
to work without intermission.
noun
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an interval, as between parts of a film
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a period between events or activities; pause
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the act of intermitting or the state of being intermitted
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of intermission
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin intermissiōn- (stem of intermissiō ) interruption, equivalent to intermiss ( us ) (past participle of intermittere to intermit ) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
The lengthy pause in the middle of a play or concert is called an intermission. If you're hungry, you might have time to grab a snack during the intermission. The word intermission has a Latin root, intermissionem, "a breaking off or interruption." Originally, it meant any temporary pause, but by the 1850s it was often used in reference to breaks between acts in theatrical performances. In the UK, this is known as an "interval," but in North America, theater and concert attendees wait until the intermission to use the restroom.
Vocabulary lists containing intermission
Reading: Literature - Drama - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Drama - Middle School
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Blasted to Smithereens: Synonyms for "Break"
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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.
Intermission was started early, and the teams played the remainder of the first period after the break.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 16, 2023
Intergrade upgrades the graphics, adds a number of quality of life features, and includes a new chapter starring Yuffie Kisaragi called Intermission.
From The Verge • Dec. 9, 2021
I-8: BUTTBREAK: Intermission after a long first act.
From Washington Post • Nov. 13, 2019
Players from an earlier game cleared the floor, as Dom Kennedy’s “A Intermission for Watts” boomed over the loudspeakers: “Love to the Eastside, but Watts is the motherland.”
From The New Yorker • Aug. 4, 2016
But this Chagrin of ours was alleviated afterwards, for we enjoy'd fair Weather above a Month without Intermission.
From The Travels and Adventures of James Massey by Patot, Simon Tyssot de
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.
