What does "interference" mean?

1. (meddling) the act of getting involved in someone else's business when you are not invited. 2. (signal noise) extra noise or a bad connection that stops a radio, TV, or phone from working clearly. 3. (physics of waves) what happens when two waves (like light or sound) meet and change each other. 4. (illegal blocking) an unfair move in sports where a player blocks an opponent illegally. 5. (language transfer) when the rules of your first language make you make mistakes in a new language. 6. (patent law) a legal process to decide who had an idea first when two people apply for the same patent.

interference

US //ˌɪnɝˈfɪɹəns// UK //ˌɪntəfˈiəɹəns// in·ter·fer·ence

1 meddling (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate

the act of getting involved in someone else's business when you are not invited.

the act of intervening in a situation without invitation or right, often causing a nuisance or obstruction.

Example

I wish my parents would stop their constant interference in my private life.

Example

The government was accused of political interference in the judicial process, sparking a debate about the separation of powers.
- cooperation
- non interference
2 signal noise (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Computing

extra noise or a bad connection that stops a radio, TV, or phone from working clearly.

the disruption of a transmitted signal by atmospheric noise, unwanted signals, or electrical disturbances.

Example

There is too much interference on the radio because of the storm.

Example

The technician explained that the proximity of the high-voltage cables was causing significant electromagnetic interference with the server equipment.
- clarity

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3 physics of waves (n.)
C1 Advanced Technical Science

what happens when two waves (like light or sound) meet and change each other.

the phenomenon in which two or more waves superimpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude.

Example

The colorful patterns on the soap bubble are caused by light interference.

Example

The experiment demonstrated constructive interference, where the peaks of two light waves aligned to create a much brighter band on the screen.
- superposition
4 illegal blocking (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Sport

an unfair move in sports where a player blocks an opponent illegally.

the illegal obstruction of an opponent's progress or ability to play the ball.

Example

The referee called a penalty for interference after the player blocked the runner.

Example

The defender was penalized for pass interference after making contact with the receiver before the ball had arrived.
- obstruction
- foul
5 language transfer (n.)
C1 Advanced Academic

when the rules of your first language make you make mistakes in a new language.

the effect of a learner's first language on the production of a second language, often leading to errors in syntax or pronunciation.

Example

His mistake with the verb was a clear case of interference from his native French.

Example

Linguistic interference often occurs when a student applies the grammatical structures of their mother tongue to a target language with different syntactic rules.
- transfer
- influence
6 patent law (n.)
C2 Proficiency American English Technical Formal Law

a legal process to decide who had an idea first when two people apply for the same patent.

an administrative proceeding to determine which of multiple applicants is entitled to a patent for the same invention.

Example

The two tech companies entered an interference proceeding to see who owned the software code.

Example

The patent office initiated an interference to resolve the priority dispute between the two rival research teams claiming the same chemical discovery.
- priority contest

Origin

From interfere + -ence. The sense in physics was likely introduced by English polymath Thomas Young, which he used as early as 1801 in a paper in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.