interruption

[in-tuh-ruhp-shuh n]

See more synonyms for interruption on Thesaurus.com

noun

cessation; intermission.

Origin of interruption

1350–1400; Middle English interrupcio(u)n < Latin interruptiōn- (stem of interruptiō). See interrupt, -ion

Related formsre·in·ter·rup·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for interruption

layoff, letup, intrusion, stoppage, hiatus, hitch, delay, disruption, pause, disturbance, breach, suspension, rupture, blackout, cutoff, abeyance, dissolution, obstruction, interim, check

Examples from the Web for interruption

Contemporary Examples of interruption

The incident with Tony Kornheiser, a Pardon the Interruption talking head, serves to highlight the problem with ESPN.
ESPN: The Worldwide Leader in Pricks
Marlow Stern
July 29, 2014
One morning in the middle of this quiet ritual–reading and prayer–I felt a sense of interruption.
Joshua DuBois’s Daily Devotionals for Obama Are Now a Book
Joshua DuBois
October 13, 2013
Spitzer rolled his eyes at the interruption, grumbling a perfunctory “very funny.”
Eliot Spitzer Mobbed by Press, Heckled at First Campaign Stop
David Freedlander
July 9, 2013
I have published online with seldom more than a day or two of interruption continuously since October 2002.
Murray Bernard Frum, 1931–2013
David Frum
May 28, 2013
But Obama, in command, feeling comfortable, laughed off the interruption, and dismissed the trouble.
Obama In Israel: He Came, He Spoke, They Swooned
Gil Troy
March 22, 2013

Historical Examples of interruption

The wayfarers all gazed in the utmost astonishment at the interruption.
The White Company
Arthur Conan Doyle
Meanwhile her mentor, Mr. Day, was delighted at the interruption of her task.
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
I think the others were as grateful as I for the interruption.
The Bacillus of Beauty
Harriet Stark
We met with no interruption, however, reaching New York in due time.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper
He turned round, not at all disconcerted by the interruption.
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for interruption

interruption

noun

something that interrupts, such as a comment, question, or action
an interval or intermission
the act of interrupting or the state of being interrupted

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

Word Origin and History for interruption

late 14c., "a break of continuity," from Old French interrupcion and directly from Latin interruptionem (nominative interruptio) "a breaking off, interruption, interval," noun of action from past participle stem of interrumpere (see interrupt). Meaning "a breaking in upon some action" is from c.1400; that of "a pause, a temporary cessation" is early 15c.