intermission

American  

[in-ter-mish-uhn] / ˌɪn tərˈmɪʃ ən /

noun

1. 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.

2. a period during which action temporarily ceases; an interval between periods of action or activity.

   They studied for hours without an intermission.

3. the act or fact of intermitting; state of being intermitted.

   to work without intermission.

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intermission British  

/ ˌɪntəˈmɪʃən /

noun

1. an interval, as between parts of a film

2. a period between events or activities; pause

3. the act of intermitting or the state of being intermitted

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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

Example Sentences

The compact nature of the production, performed without intermission in just over 90 minutes, awkwardly exposes the melodrama that Ibsen took great pains to undercut.

From Los Angeles Times

There were multiple intermissions, but those became part of the show as well, as there was no set time limit.

From Los Angeles Times

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

If I didn’t wow them, the theater would be completely empty after intermission, and my opera career would’ve ended before it began.

From Literature

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

Related Words

• interruption
• interval
• lull