Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Language: Latin
Origin: , past participle of interrumpere, from rumpere 'to break'

interrupt

 verb
     
in‧ter‧rupt
1 [intransitive and transitive] to stop someone from continuing what they are saying or doing by suddenly speaking to them, making a noise etc:
Will you stop interrupting me!
Sorry to interrupt, but I need to ask you to come downstairs.
2 [transitive] to make a process or activity stop temporarily:
My studies were interrupted by the war.
3 [transitive] if something interrupts a line, surface, view etc it stops it from being continuous
—interruption noun [uncountable and countable]
We can talk here without interruption.
! Do not use interruption to mean a short period when students or workers can stop working and relax. Use break instead: Between the two classes there is a 15 minute break.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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