Definition of "interrupt" [in•ter•rupt]

• To break the continuity or uniformity of: Rain interrupted our baseball game. (verb-transitive)
• To hinder or stop the action or discourse of (someone) by breaking in on: The baby interrupted me while I was on the phone. (verb-transitive)
• To break in on an action or discourse. (verb-intransitive)
• Computer Science A signal to a computer that stops the execution of a running program so that another action can be performed. (noun)
• Computer Science A circuit that conveys a signal stopping the execution of a running program. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The same applies when incoming phone calls interrupt your game."
• "Phone calls interrupt our workflow and are more time-consuming to deal with than emails; plus they don't allow the PR person to convey as much information as an email message."
• "But what we didn't have were a dozen other little chits keeping track of other conditions, and we had few "interrupt" - style powers that would trigger on other people's turns."