Definition of 'intercept'
Word forms: 3rd person singular present tense intercepts
, present participle intercepting
, past tense, past participle intercepted
verb
If you intercept someone or something that is travelling from one place to another, you stop them before they get to their destination.
Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Video: pronunciation of
intercept
British English pronunciation
American English pronunciation
Word Frequency
intercept in British English
noun (ˈɪntəˌsɛpt
)
5. sport, US and Canadian
the act of intercepting an opponent's pass
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Derived forms
interception (ˌinterˈception) noun
interceptive (ˌinterˈceptive)
adjective
Word origin
C16: from Latin intercipere to seize before arrival, from inter- + capere to take
Word Frequency
intercept in American English
verb transitive
1.
to seize or stop on the way, before arrival at the intended place; stop or interrupt the course of; cut off
to intercept a forward pass
3. Ancient Mathematics
to cut off, mark off, or bound between two points, lines, or planes
noun
5.
6. Ancient Mathematics
the part of a line, plane, etc. intercepted
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
interceptive (ˌinterˈceptive)
adjective
Word origin
< L interceptus, pp. of intercipere, to take between, interrupt < inter-, between + capere, to take: see haveWord Frequency
intercept in American English
(verb ˌɪntərˈsept, noun ˈɪntərˌsept)
transitive verb
1.
to take, seize, or halt (someone or something on the way from one place to another); cut off from an intended
destination
to intercept a messenger
2.
We intercepted the enemy's battle plan
5.
to stop or interrupt the course, progress, or transmission of
6.
7.
to stop the natural course of (light, water, etc.)
8. Math
to mark off or include, as between two points or lines
9.
to intersect
noun
12.
an interception
13. Math
a.
an intercepted segment of a line
b. (in a coordinate system)
the distance from the origin to the point at which a curve or line intersects an axis
Most material © 2005, 1997, 1991 by Penguin Random House LLC. Modified entries © 2019
by Penguin Random House LLC and HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Derived forms
interceptive adjective
Word origin
[1535–45; ‹ L interceptus ptp. of intercipere, equiv. to inter- inter- + -cep- (comb. form of cap-, s. of capere to take) + -tus ptp. suffix; cf. incipient]Examples of 'intercept' in a sentence
intercept
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In other languages
intercept
British English: intercept
VERB /ˌɪntəˈsɛpt/
If you intercept someone or something that is travelling from one place to another, you stop them before they get to their destination.
Police officers intercepted him on his way to the airport.
- American English: intercept /ɪntərˈsɛpt/
- Brazilian Portuguese: interceptar
- Chinese: 拦截
- European Spanish: interceptar
- French: intercepter
- German: abfangen
- Italian: fermare
- Japanese: 途中で止める人・物を
- Korean: 방해하다
- European Portuguese: intercetar
- Latin American Spanish: interceptar
- Thai: ดักจับ, สกัดจับ
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