interceptor
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that intercepts.
-
Military. a fighter aircraft with fast-reaction capabilities, used to identify and, if appropriate, engage other aircraft in combat.
noun
-
a person or thing that intercepts
-
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.
But the new turbojet models can outrun interceptor drones made by Ukraine and must be downed by jet fighters or Ukraine’s limited supply of interceptor missiles, Ukrainian officials say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
Ukraine has embarked on a programme to develop its own interceptor missiles with European support – known as Project Freya.
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Ukraine’s deployment of interceptor drones to hunt Russian Shahed-type drones has helped boost its interception rate to 87% in July, compared with 81% in December, according to an analysis of Ukrainian official data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
But US media outlets have reported that General Dan Caine, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, has raised concerns about falling US interceptor supplies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 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.
