Interrupt

noun

/ˌɪntəˈɹʌpt/

Word Frequency: 5.0

Definitions

1.nounAn event that causes a computer or other device to temporarily cease what it was doing and attend to a condition.

"The interrupt caused the packet handler routine to run."

2.verbTo disturb or halt (an ongoing process or action, or the person performing it) by interfering suddenly.

"A maverick politician repeatedly interrupted the debate by shouting."

3.verbTo divide; to separate; to break the monotony of.

"The evenness of the road was not interrupted by a single hill."

4.verbTo assert to (a computer) that an exceptional condition must be handled.

"The packet receiver circuit interrupted the microprocessor."

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