intercept. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000.

intercept


SYLLABICATION:	in·ter·cept
PRONUNCIATION:	ntr-spt
TRANSITIVE VERB:	Inflected forms: in·ter·cept·ed, in·ter·cept·ing, in·ter·cepts 1. To stop, deflect, or interrupt the progress or intended course of: intercepted me with a message as I was leaving. 2. Sports a. To gain possession of (an opponent's pass), as in football or basketball. b. To gain possession of a pass made by (an opponent), especially in football. 3. Mathematics To include or bound (a part of a space or curve) between two points or lines. 4. Archaic To prevent. 5. Obsolete To cut off from access or communication.
NOUN:	(ntr-spt)1. Mathematics The coordinate of a point at which a line, curve, or surface intersects a coordinate axis. 2a. The interception of a missile by another missile or an aircraft by another aircraft. b. Interception of a radio transmission. 3. An interceptor.
ETYMOLOGY:	Middle English intercepten, from Latin intercipere, intercept- : inter-, inter- + capere, to seize; see kap- in Appendix I.
OTHER FORMS:	inter·ceptive —ADJECTIVE


The American Heritage^® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.