interrupt

/,intə'rʌpt/
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Thân thiện
interrupt

A student raises his hand to interrupt the teacher's lecture.

Definition
  1. Verb:
    • To stop the continuous progress of an activity or process: To cause something to cease temporarily or permanently by breaking its continuity.
    • To stop a person who is speaking by saying or doing something: To break into a conversation or monologue, often considered impolite.
    • To obstruct or block a view, line, or passage: To create a break in the continuity of a physical space or signal.
Usage and Examples
  • Verb (to stop an activity):

    • A loud noise interrupted the lecture. (The noise caused the lecture to stop temporarily.)
    • The power outage interrupted our work for several hours. (The outage broke the continuity of our work process.)
  • Verb (to stop a speaker):

    • It is rude to interrupt someone when they are speaking. (It is impolite to break into someone's speech.)
    • "May I interrupt for a moment?" he asked politely. (He asked for permission to break into the conversation briefly.)
  • Verb (to obstruct):

    • A tall building interrupts the view of the mountains. (The building blocks the line of sight to the mountains.)
Advanced Usage
  • In computing: A signal that causes the processor to temporarily halt its current task to handle a higher-priority event.
    • The keyboard sends an interrupt signal when a key is pressed.
  • "To interrupt oneself": To stop one's own speech or action.
    • She interrupted herself mid-sentence to answer the phone.
Variants and Related Words
  • Interruption (noun): The act of interrupting or the state of being interrupted.
    • There was a brief interruption in service.
  • Interruptive (adjective): Causing an interruption.
    • The interruptive noise made concentration impossible.
  • Uninterrupted (adjective): Continuous without interruption.
    • We enjoyed hours of uninterrupted conversation.
Synonyms
  • Halt: To bring to a stop.
  • Disrupt: To cause disorder or interrupt a process.
  • Intrude: To enter or interrupt a situation without invitation.
  • Cut in: To interrupt a conversation (informal).
Related Phrasal Verbs

(Note: "Interrupt" is not commonly used in phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is typically expressed by the verb alone or with a prepositional phrase like "interrupt with.") - Interrupt with: To break into speech by introducing something. - He constantly interrupted the meeting with irrelevant questions.

Related Idioms
  • To interrupt the silence: To make a noise that ends a period of quiet.
    • A bird's song interrupted the silence of the dawn.
  • A rude interruption: An impolite act of breaking into a conversation.
    • His comment was seen as a rude interruption.
interrupt

A student raises his hand to interrupt the teacher's lecture.

Noun
  1. a signal that temporarily stops the execution of a program so that another procedure can be carried out
Verb
  1. terminate
    • She interrupted her pregnancy
    • break a lucky streak
    • break the cycle of poverty
  2. interfere in someone else's activity
    • Please don't interrupt me while I'm on the phone
  3. destroy the peace or tranquility of
    • Don't interrupt me when I'm reading
  4. make a break in
    • We interrupt the program for the following messages