Meanings
verbinterrupt (third-person singular simple present interrupts, present participle interrupting, simple past and past participle interrupted)
present singular third person interrupts · participle present interrupting · participle past interrupted · past interrupted · alternative obsolete interrumpt · alternative obsolete interroupt · alternative obsolete interrout
- ambitransitiveTo disturb or halt (an ongoing process or action, or the person performing it) by interfering suddenly, especially by speaking.
A maverick politician repeatedly interrupted the debate by shouting.
2 more examples
Do not interrupt me in my course.
c. 1591–1595 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Romeo and Ivliet”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]One saint's day in mid-term a certain newly appointed suffragan-bishop came to the school chapel, and there preached on “The Inner Life.” He at once secured attention by his informal method, and when presently the coughing of Jarvis […] interrupted the sermon, he altogether captivated his audience with a remark about cough lozenges being cheap and easily procurable.
1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter III, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC - transitiveTo divide; to separate; to break the monotony of.
The evenness of the road was not interrupted by a single hill.
- transitivecomputingTo assert to (a computer) that an exceptional condition must be handled.
The packet receiver circuit interrupted the microprocessor.
nouninterrupt (plural interrupts)
plural interrupts · alternative obsolete interrumpt · alternative obsolete interroupt · alternative obsolete interrout
- businessAn 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.
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁én
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁n̥tér
- Proto-Italic*n̥ter
- Latininter
- Latininter-
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrew-?
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrewp-
- Proto-Indo-European*Hrunépti
- Latinrumpō
- Latininterrumpō
- Latininterruptus
- Middle Englishinterrupten
- Englishinterrupt
From Middle English interrupten, derived from Latin interruptus, past participle of interrumpere (“to break apart/off, interrupt”), from inter (“between”) + rumpere (“to break”).
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic قَاطَعَ
- قَاطَعَ (qāṭaʕa)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Bulgarian прекъсвам, препятствам
- прекъсвам (prekăsvam)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- препятствам (prepjatstvam)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Catalan interrompre
- interrompreto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Chinese Cantonese 插口
- 插口 (caap³ hau²)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Chinese Mandarin 打斷 /打断, 插嘴
- 打斷 /打断 (dǎduàn)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 插嘴 (chāzuǐ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 中斷 /中断 (zhōngduàn)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 打擾 /打扰 (dǎrǎo)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Czech přerušit, přerušení
- přerušitto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- přerušenían event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Danish afbryde
- afbrydeto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Dutch afbreken, onderbreken
- afbrekento disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- onderbrekento disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Esperanto interrompi
- interrompito disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Finnish katkaista, keskeyttää
- katkaistato disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- keskeyttääto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- keskeyttääto assert an exceptional condition
- keskeytysan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
French interrompre, couper
- interrompreto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- couperto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- interruptionan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
German unterbrechen, unterbrechen
- unterbrechento disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- unterbrechencomputing: to assert that an exceptional condition must be handled
- Interruptan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Greek διακόπτω, διακοπή
- διακόπτω (diakópto)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- διακοπή (diakopí)an event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Hindi टोकना
- टोकना (ṭoknā)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Hungarian félbeszakít, megszakít
- félbeszakítto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- megszakítto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- megzavarto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- megakasztto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- abbahagyto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- megszakítto assert an exceptional condition
- megszakításan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
- programmegszakításan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Irish cuir isteach ar
- cuir isteach arto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Italian interrompere, tagliare
- interrompereto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- tagliareto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- interrompersito disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Japanese 中断する, 邪魔する
- 中断する (chūdan suru)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 邪魔する (jama suru)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 遮る (saegiru)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- 割り込む (warikomu)to assert an exceptional condition
- 割り込み (warikomi)an event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Latin interrumpō
- interrumpōto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Lithuanian pertraukti, nutraukti
- pertrauktito disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- nutrauktito disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Māori whakapōnānā, titere
- whakapōnānāto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- titereto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- aruaruto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- kohikoto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- kaiwaengato disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Norwegian avbryte
- avbryteto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Polish przerywać, przerwać
- przerywaćto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- przerwaćto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- wtrącać sięto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- wtrącić sięto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- przerwaniean event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Portuguese interromper, interromper
- interromperto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- interromperto assert an exceptional condition
Punjabi ٹَوکݨا
- ٹَوکݨا (ṭaukṇā)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Romanian întrerupe
- întrerupeto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Russian прерыва́ть, прерва́ть
- прерыва́ть (preryvátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- прерва́ть (prervátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- обрыва́ть (obryvátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- оборва́ть (oborvátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- перебива́ть (perebivátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- переби́ть (perebítʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- вме́шиваться (vméšivatʹsja)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- вмеша́ться (vmešátʹsja)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- меша́ть (mešátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- помеша́ть (pomešátʹ)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- прерыва́ть (preryvátʹ)to assert an exceptional condition
- прерва́ть (prervátʹ)to assert an exceptional condition
- прерывание (preryvanije)an event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Spanish interrumpir, interromper
- interrumpirto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- interromperto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- interrupciónan event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Swedish avbryta, förhindra
- avbrytato disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- förhindrato disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- stävjato disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Turkish kesilmek, kesmek
- kesilmekto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- kesmekto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- araya girmekto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- kesmekto assert an exceptional condition
- iş kesmekcomputing: to assert that an exceptional condition must be handled
- kesmekcomputing: to assert that an exceptional condition must be handled
- iş kesmean event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
- kesmean event that causes a computer to temporarily cease
Ukrainian перерива́ти, перерва́ти
- перерива́ти (pereryváty)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
- перерва́ти (pererváty)to disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Welsh torri ar
- torri arto disturb or halt an ongoing process or action
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with interrupt
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
interrupt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/interrupt
MLA
“interrupt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/interrupt. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “interrupt,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/interrupt.
Source: interrupt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.