Definition

1. Noun:
   • A pause or break between periods of activity: An intermission is a temporary stop or interruption in a continuous event, process, or performance.
   • A scheduled interval in a performance: Specifically, an intermission is a short period between the acts of a play, opera, or concert, or between parts of a film, during which the audience can leave their seats.

Examples

• Noun:
  • There will be a 15-minute intermission halfway through the play.
  • The rain continued without intermission for three days.
  • We went to the lobby to buy drinks during the intermission.

Advanced Usage

• "Without intermission": continuously, without stopping.
  • He worked on the project without intermission for ten hours.
• "Brief intermission": a very short pause.
  • The speaker took a brief intermission before continuing his lecture.

Variants and Related Words

• Intermit (verb, rare): to stop or pause at intervals.
  • The pain would intermit for a few hours.
• Intermittent (adjective): occurring at irregular intervals; not continuous or steady.
  • We heard intermittent gunfire throughout the night.

Synonyms

• Interval: A period of time between events.
• Break: A pause in work or activity.
• Recess: A temporary break from proceedings.
• Hiatus: A pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process.

Related Phrases

• Intermission music: Music played during the break in a performance.
  • The intermission music was provided by a string quartet.

Idioms

• There is no intermission in life: An expression meaning that life's events and responsibilities continue without a formal break.
  • You must learn to rest even though there is no intermission in life.

Noun

1. a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
2. the act of suspending activity temporarily