Meaning & use
interrupt
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To break into someone's speech or activity before they have finished.
Grammar: Can take an object (interrupt someone) or stand alone (please don't interrupt).
Patterns
- interrupt someone
- interrupt something
- interrupt with something
She interrupted me in the middle of my sentence.
It's rude to interrupt when someone is speaking.
He interrupted the meeting to announce the news.
verbtransitive
To stop something from continuing for a period of time; to cause a break in an activity or process.
Grammar: Takes an object: interrupt the flow, interrupt the service.
Patterns
- interrupt something
- interrupt the flow
- interrupt a process
The storm interrupted the power supply for several hours.
The noise from the construction work interrupted my concentration.
The tennis match was interrupted by rain.
verbtransitivecomputing
To temporarily stop a computer process or program by sending a signal.
Grammar: Used in computing; often passive: the process was interrupted.
Patterns
- interrupt a process
- interrupt a program
The user can interrupt the program at any time by pressing Ctrl+C.
The download was interrupted when the connection dropped.
Word forms
| third person singular | interrupts |
|---|---|
| past tense | interrupted |
| past participle | interrupted |
| -ing form | interrupting |
Common combinations
- interrupt a conversation
- He rudely interrupted our conversation.
- interrupt someone's train of thought
- The phone call interrupted my train of thought.
- interrupt the flow
- Too many questions can interrupt the flow of the presentation.
- interrupt a meeting
- She interrupted the meeting to share the urgent news.
- interrupt with a question
- The students interrupted with questions throughout the lecture.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cut in
- More informal and often suggests joining a conversation without being invited.
- break in
- Similar but often used for entering a place or starting to speak suddenly.
- disrupt
- Stronger and more formal; it emphasizes causing disorder or stopping normal progress.
Opposites
Word family
- interruption noun
- An act of interrupting or a break in something.
- interrupted adjective
- Stopped or broken off temporarily.
- interruptible adjective
- Able to be interrupted.
Commonly confused: interrupt or interrupt vs. disrupt?
interrupt vs interrupt vs. disrupt
Interrupt means to break the flow; disrupt means to cause major disorder or prevent something from continuing normally.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Interrupt is transitive when a person is the object: interrupt someone. No preposition is used. 'Interrupt to me' is wrong because 'to' is not used with the person interrupted.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “interrupt”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.