INTERCEPT • DICTIONARY ONE.COM • Definition of Intercept

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/ˌɪntərsˈɛpt/ /ˌɪnərsˈɛpt/ Listen

verb

Intercept v. t. (past & past part. intercepted; pres. part. intercepting)

1.

To take or seize by the way, or before arrival at the destined place; to cause to stop on the passage; as, to intercept a letter; a telegram will intercept him at Paris. "God will shortly intercept your breath."

2.

To obstruct or interrupt the progress of; to stop; to hinder or oppose; as, to intercept the current of a river. "Who intercepts me in my expedition?" "We must meet first, and intercept his course."

3.

To interrupt communication with, or progress toward; to cut off, as the destination; to blockade. "While storms vindictive intercept the shore."

4.

(Math.) To include between; as, that part of the line which is intercepted between the points A and B.

5.

To overhear or view (a communication or message intended for another), without hindering its passage; as, to intercept a telephone call.

6.

(Sports) To catch and take possession of (a ball passed between members of an opposing team); as, the back intercepted the pass and ran the ball back for a touchdown.

Synonyms: To cut off; stop; catch; seize; obstruct.

noun

Intercept n. (Math.) A part cut off or intercepted, as a portion of a line included between two points, or cut off two straight lines or curves.

See images of 'Intercept'

Etymology of 'Intercept'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Intercept" Quotes from Famous Books

... commander to take one hundred Rangers, with "two wall-pieces and two blunderbusses," and proceed by boat down Lake George to a point opposite a certain part of the Narrows, where they were to cross overland and try to intercept ...

— "Old Put" The Patriot • Frederick A. Ober

... as he could, and make the best of his way to Portsmouth. It was almost dark by the time that all the necessary arrangements were completed and the boats once more hoisted in, when we wore round and shaped a course which we hoped would enable us to intercept and recapture the Indiaman before she could ...

— A Middy of the King - A Romance of the Old British Navy • Harry Collingwood

... and she brought it down in time to intercept Clarence as he was starting in rather low spirits for another crowded hour of anything but glorious life in the ...

— In Brief Authority • F. Anstey

... during that dreadful time, within the city boundaries; even natives returning home were obliged to stay outside in quarantine for three months. James II lodged at the Bishop's Palace on his way to intercept the Prince of Orange, and here, a month later, William III stayed in his turn while the previous guest fled the country. It is said that on the day James arrived in Salisbury an ornamental crown on the facade of the Council ...

— Wanderings in Wessex - An Exploration of the Southern Realm from Itchen to Otter • Edric Holmes

... turn off, leaned into the diagonal line to intercept them; but the rangers, already close, up, had just made a similar movement, and savage and Saxon were now obliquing ...

— The War Trail - The Hunt of the Wild Horse • Mayne Reid

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