intercept

[ verb in-ter-sept; noun in-ter-sept ]
/ verb ˌɪn tərˈsɛpt; noun ˈɪn tərˌsɛpt /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR intercept ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

noun

an interception.
Mathematics.
  1. an intercepted segment of a line.
  2. (in a coordinate system) the distance from the origin to the point at which a curve or line intersects an axis.

QUIZZES

HEED THE VOX POPULI, AND TAKE THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

Test your memory on these verbal firecrackers from the week of June 29 to July 5!
Question 1 of 7
anchorite
a granular metamorphic rock.
a person who has retired to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.
a hobble or fetter for a horse or other animal.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of intercept

1535–45; < Latin interceptus past participle of intercipere, equivalent to inter- inter- + -cep- (combining form of cap-, stem of capere to take) + -tus past participle suffix; cf. incipient

OTHER WORDS FROM intercept

Words nearby intercept

intercede, intercellular, intercellular bridge, intercellular canaliculus, intercensal, intercept, interception, interceptor, intercession, intercessor, intercessory
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Words related to intercept

prevent, seize, stop, deflect, arrest, ambush, catch, hijack, block, hinder, obstruct, interlope, interpose, appropriate, curb, take, check, shortstop

Example sentences from the Web for intercept

British Dictionary definitions for intercept

intercept

verb (ˌɪntəˈsɛpt) (tr)

to stop, deflect, or seize on the way from one place to another; prevent from arriving or proceeding
sport to seize or cut off (a pass) on its way from one opponent to another
maths to cut off, mark off, or bound (some part of a line, curve, plane, or surface)

noun (ˈɪntəˌsɛpt)

maths
  1. a point at which two figures intersect
  2. the distance from the origin to the point at which a line, curve, or surface cuts a coordinate axis
  3. an intercepted segment
sport, US and Canadian the act of intercepting an opponent's pass

Derived forms of intercept

interception, nouninterceptive, adjective

Word Origin for intercept

C16: from Latin intercipere to seize before arrival, from inter- + capere to take
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for intercept

intercept
[ ĭn′tər-sĕpt′ ]

In a Cartesian coordinate system, the coordinate of a point at which a line, curve, or surface intersects a coordinate axis. If a curve intersects the x-axis at (4,0), then 4 is the curve's x-intercept; if the curve intersects the y-axis at (0,2), then 2 is its y-intercept.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.