noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An act of intercepting something, the state of being intercepted, or a thing that is intercepted. countable, uncountable
2. 2
   (American football) the act of catching a football by a player on the opposing team wordnet
3. 3
   An aeronautical action in which a fighter approaches a suspicious aircraft to escort it away from a prohibited area, or approaches an enemy aircraft to shoot it down. countable, uncountable
4. 4
   the act of intercepting; preventing something from proceeding or arriving wordnet
5. 5
   A passing play where the ball is caught by the opposing team. countable, uncountable

Show 2 more definitions

6. 6
   A pass that is intercepted by an opposing player. countable, uncountable
7. 7
   precipitation that does not reach the soil, but is instead intercepted by the leaves, branches of plants and the forest floor. countable, uncountable

Synonyms

All synonyms

detectionprevention

Example

More examples

"Tom made an important interception as his team defended their one-nil lead."

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin interceptiō; compare French interception.

Related phrases

interception trylawful interception

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.