Did you know?
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
Alexandra Skores, CNN Money, 12 Feb. 2026
Mike elects to go out on his own, and thus Money dispatches the mangy-looking kill machine Orman (Barry Keoghan; bleach-blond hair plus exposed roots = sociopath) to intercept Mike’s next job and take him down.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
Jacob Camenker, USA Today, 8 Feb. 2026
Information about the intercept was shared by Gabbard with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles.
—Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for intercept
Cite this Entry
“Intercept.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intercept. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
intercept
1 of 2 verb
intercept
2 of 2 noun
Legal Definition
intercept
transitive verbU.S. Code
