interrupt: Meaning and Definition of

in•ter•rupt

Pronunciation: (v.in"tu-rupt'n.in'tu-rupt"), [key]
— v.t.
  1. to cause or make a break in the continuity or uniformity of (a course, process, condition, etc.).
  2. to break off or cause to cease, as in the middle of something:work to answer the bell. He interrupted his
  3. to stop (a person) in the midst of doing or saying something, esp. by an interjected remark: May I interrupt you to comment on your last remark?
—v.i.
  1. to cause a break or discontinuance; interfere with action or speech, esp. by interjecting a remark: Please don't interrupt.
—n.
  1. a hardware signal that breaks the flow of program execution and transfers control to a predetermined storage location so that another procedure can be followed or a new operation carried out.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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