interceptor
Americannoun
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a person or thing that intercepts.
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Military. a fighter aircraft with fast-reaction capabilities, used to identify and, if appropriate, engage other aircraft in combat.
noun
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a person or thing that intercepts
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a fast highly manoeuvrable fighter aircraft used to intercept enemy aircraft
Etymology
Origin of interceptor
1590–1600; < Latin, equivalent to intercep- ( see intercept) + -tor -tor ( def. )
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.
That makes all the more welcome the news that Lockheed Martin will build a cheaper air-defense interceptor, a sign the U.S. can adapt to today’s rapid evolution in warfare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
In Kyiv, there was some degree of scepticism that the interceptor missiles could be produced on Ukrainian territory at this stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
U.S. defense company Lockheed Martin delivered around 620 of the so-called PAC-3 interceptor last year, up from around 500 in 2024.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The Ukrainian Air Force says a shortage of interceptor missiles meant none of the 23 ballistic missiles fired by Russia at Kyiv on Sunday night were shot down.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
To boot, Onofre’s TV antenna was so tall, so elaborate, so pronged, and so replete with squiggling copper and aluminum tubing and boosters, that it looked like a DEW-line radar interceptor in Greenland.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
