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Since the prefix inter means "between", it's not hard to see how intercept was created. Arms shipments coming to a country are sometimes intercepted, but such interceptions can sometimes be understood as acts of war. In football, soccer, and basketball, players try to intercept the ball as it's being passed by the other team. In years gone by, letters and documents being carried between officers or officials were sometimes intercepted when the carrier was caught; today, when these communications are generally electronic, an intercepted email isn't actually stopped, but simply read secretly by a third party.
Examples of intercept in a Sentence
Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 12 Mar. 2025
The 5-foot-11, 310-pound Ford had three sacks and intercepted a pass.
—Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 11 Mar. 2025
Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
The airspace intrusions in the heavily congested South Florida airspace have prompted fighter jet intercepts but did not alter Trump’s schedule or affect his security, officials said.
—Zeke Miller, Los Angeles Times, 9 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for intercept
Cite this Entry
“Intercept.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intercept. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
intercept
1 of 2 verb
intercept
2 of 2 noun
Legal Definition
intercept
transitive verbU.S. Code
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