interrupt
//ˌɪntəˈɹʌpt//
Forms
- present (v1)
- interrupt
- past (v2)
- interrupted
- past participle (v3)
- interrupted
- present participle
- interrupting
- 3rd person singular
- interrupts
- Plural
- interrupts
Definitions
1.To disturb or halt (an ongoing process or action, or the person performing it) by interfering suddenly, especially by speaking.
- Do not interrupt me in my course.
- A maverick politician repeatedly interrupted the debate by shouting.
2.To divide; to separate; to break the monotony of.
- The evenness of the road was not interrupted by a single hill.
3.To assert to (a computer) that an exceptional condition must be handled.
- The packet receiver circuit interrupted the microprocessor.
1.An event that causes a computer or other device to temporarily cease what it was doing and attend to a condition.
- The interrupt caused the packet handler routine to run.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3684
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From Middle English interrupten, derived from Latin interruptus, past participle of interrumpere (“to break apart/off, interrupt”)
From inter (“between”) + rumpere (“to break”).