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
- intermissive adjective
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.
Pattullo has added an intermission, with quiches courtesy of Kitchen Mouse and Just What I Kneaded included in the ticket.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 18, 2026
Audience members are naturally Bacharach fans, and the show, which runs about two hours with an intermission, doles out the great hits lavishly, beginning with all three singers performing “Always Something There to Remind Me.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 5, 2026
From August through November, we move from my mom’s to mine to my siblings’, with only a brief intermission before my dad’s rolls around in April.
From Salon • Feb. 3, 2026
"He managed to convince the marching band - a huge deal at American universities - to come and play in the intermission between singles and doubles matches," Ram told BBC Sport.
From BBC • Feb. 3, 2026
Citra asked as soon as the lights came up for the first act intermission.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
