# interruption

/ˌɪntɝˈəpʃən/ (US) · /ˌɪntəɹˈʌpʃən/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/interruption
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. breaking continuity

noun · CEFR B1

something that stops an action or process for a short time.

For teachers: the act of breaking the continuity of a process, state, or activity; an event that causes a temporary cessation.

- I managed to finish the report without any interruption from my colleagues.
- The sudden power outage caused a significant interruption to the manufacturing process, resulting in several hours of lost productivity.

### 2. speaking over someone

noun · CEFR B2

the act of starting to speak while someone else is already talking.

For teachers: the act of breaking into someone else's speech or discourse, often perceived as a breach of conversational etiquette.

- Please excuse the interruption, but there is an urgent phone call for you.
- The moderator struggled to maintain order as frequent interruptions from the audience made it difficult for the speaker to finish his argument.

### 3. a gap or pause

noun · CEFR B2

a period of time when something stops before starting again.

For teachers: a time interval or gap during which there is a cessation of a continuous activity.

- After a brief interruption for lunch, the meeting continued until five o'clock.
- The long-term study was compromised by a two-year interruption in data collection due to a lack of funding.

## Examples

- I am sorry for the interruption, but you have a phone call.
- The speaker handled the constant interruptions from the audience with great patience and professionalism.
- Frequent interruptions in the workflow can significantly decrease productivity, as the human brain requires several minutes to regain deep focus after a distraction.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.