intercept
verb
in·ter·cept
| \ ˌin-tər-ˈsept
\
\
intercepted;
intercepting;
intercepts
Definition of intercept
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: to stop, seize, or interrupt in progress or course or before arrival
b
: to receive (a communication or signal directed elsewhere) usually secretly
2a
: to gain possession of (an opponent's pass)
b
: to intercept a pass thrown by (an opponent)
3
: to include (part of a curve, surface, or solid) between two points, curves, or surfaces
the part of a circumference intercepted between two radii
5
obsolete
: to interrupt communication or connection with
intercept
noun
in·ter·cept
| \ ˈin-tər-ˌsept
\
\
Definition of intercept (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: the distance from the origin to a point where a graph crosses a coordinate axis
2
: interception
especially
: the interception of a missile by an interceptor or of a target by a missile
3
: a message, code, or signal that is intercepted (as by monitoring radio communications)
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of intercept in a Sentence
Verb
Detectives have been intercepting her mail. The police intercepted him as he was walking out.Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Later Kyle Scherette intercepted a pass and returned it 52-yards for the score. — cleveland.com, "Check out cleveland.com High School Football Top 25 Roundup for Week 1, August 30, 2019," 31 Aug. 2019 On the next series, Coby Tippett intercepted Rainey’s pass attempt on The Citadel’s first play from scrimmage to seal the victory for the Tigers. — Baltimore Sun Staff, baltimoresun.com, "Towson running back Shane Simpson’s score in closing minutes, lifts team to opening football win over Citadel," 31 Aug. 2019 With the score still tied late in the third quarter, Bishop O’Dowd intercepted a pass near midfield. — Chace Bryson, SFChronicle.com, "Los Lomas uses strong second-half effort to beat Bishop O’Dowd," 31 Aug. 2019 He was sacked just once and not intercepted at all. — oregonlive, "Goe: Oregon State Beavers are defenseless in a season-opening loss to Oklahoma State," 31 Aug. 2019 Michael Edwards intercepted a pass three plays into the ensuing Hallandale (1-1) drive. — Tim Dwyer, sun-sentinel.com, "Law, visiting Chaminade-Madonna coast by Hallandale," 31 Aug. 2019 Falcons cornerback Zeal Shumate intercepted a Santa Fe pass at 7:10 in the second quarter set up another scoring drive for the hosts. — Vincent Nguyen, Glendale News-Press, "Crescenta Valley football shuts out Santa Fe in Gossard’s debut," 30 Aug. 2019 After their third fourth-down conversion of the evening, the Pioneers were in position to add to the lead, but Quinn intercepted the ball in the end zone with 22 seconds left before halftime. — Andrew Turner, Daily Pilot, "Huntington Beach football can’t solve Western," 30 Aug. 2019 Bonar and Jesus Solano intercepted two passes each last season. — Robert Avery, Houston Chronicle, "Deer can contend if defensive facelift produces results," 27 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Some of that evidence came from incriminating intercepts from the various wiretaps over which agents had for months been listening in on the kingpin and his underlings. — Alan Feuer, New York Times, "‘El Chapo’ Guzmán Sentenced to Life in Prison, Ending Notorious Criminal Career," 17 July 2019 ZDNet notes that bugs like these are invaluable to manufacturers of intercept tools and surveillance software, and the right buyer would likely pay millions for access to them before Apple is able to patch its software in defense. — Jon Porter, The Verge, "Google discovered several iPhone security flaws, and Apple still hasn’t patched one," 30 July 2019 Assuming that the 60 percent intercept rate is accurate, that is enough to ensure the shoot-down of up to 11 incoming warheads. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Pentagon Claims Success in New Missile Defense Test," 26 Mar. 2019 The last unsafe intercept by Russia occurred late last year, in November 2018, over the Black Sea. — CBS News, "Russian jet conducts unsafe intercept of U.S. Navy plane," 5 June 2019 Somewhat similarly, during the transition period Kushner attempted to set up a secret communications channel with the Kremlin, according to intercepts of the Russian ambassador. — Aaron Blake, Washington Post, "Is Jared Kushner using the White House as his own personal boardroom?," 1 Mar. 2018 China disputed the account and said its aircraft had made a legal intercept. — Jake Maxwell Watts, WSJ, "Defense Chiefs Seek Friendlier Skies Over Asia’s Military Flashpoints," 20 Oct. 2018 Laura Grego, a senior scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, said before Greaves’ announcement that a successful intercept did not mean the missile defense system is fully ready to defend the U.S. in combat. — Robert Burns, The Seattle Times, "Pentagon: Missile defense test succeeds in shootdown," 26 Mar. 2019 Although some details are classified, it was long assumed that the Air Force would salvo 4-5 GBIs per incoming warhead to ensure a successful intercept. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Pentagon Claims Success in New Missile Defense Test," 26 Mar. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intercept.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
More Definitions for intercept
intercept
verb
English Language Learners Definition of intercept
: to stop and take someone or something that is going from one place to another place before that person or thing gets there
sports
: to catch or receive (a pass made by an opponent)
See the full definition for intercept in the English Language Learners Dictionary
intercept
verb
in·ter·cept
| \ ˌin-tər-ˈsept
\
\
intercepted;
intercepting