Intercept Meaning
/ɪntəˈsɛpt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo stop, deflect or divert (something in progress or motion).
verbTo gain possession of (the ball) in a ball game.
Sentence Examples
Fighter jets were scrambled to intercept an airliner that deviated from its flight path.
France is training eagles to intercept drones.
The ship moved into position to intercept the space probe.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The spy managed to ____ the secret message before it reached the enemy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The navy was ordered to ____ the suspicious ship before it could reach the local harbor.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin interceptum, past participle of intercipiō.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"[T]he emotion grew ſo violent that it almost intercepted my reſpiration."
— 1749, [John Cleland], “[Letter the First]”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], volume I, London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC, page 67:
"The rights of men in ſociety, are neither deviſeable, nor transferable, nor annihilable, but are deſcendable only; and it is not in the power of any generation to intercept finally, and cut off the deſcent."
— 1791, Thomas Paine, Rights of Man: Being an Answer to Mr. Burke’s Attack on the French Revolution, London: […] J. S. Jordan, […], →OCLC, page 129:
"I must admit to being genuinely shocked when I saw those letters in my file. I always suspected that mail was monitored, but it never occurred to me that mail would be intercepted and opened."
— 1976 December 18, Allen Young, “Speaking Out”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 25, page 9:
"Because the horizontal-axis intercept occurs when y=0 and the vertical-axis intercept occurs when x=0, we can find the intercepts algebraically."
— 2012, Alice Kaseberg, Greg Cripe, Peter Wildman, Introductory Algebra: Everyday Explorations, page 278:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The spy managed to ____ the secret message before it reached the enemy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The navy was ordered to ____ the suspicious ship before it could reach the local harbor.