Interception

How to spell interception

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce interception

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does interception mean?

1. nounThe act of stopping or catching something or someone before it reaches its intended destination.

Interception in a sentence

• The interception of enemy radio signals gave the army a clear advantage.

• Customs officers credited the drug seizure to a well-timed interception at the port.

Where does interception come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word descends from the Latin verb intercipere, which meant literally 'to take or seize something in between', formed from inter 'between' and capere 'to take'. The Romans used it for catching or cutting off something as it passed, whether a message, a person, or a supply line. The related noun interceptio gave rise to the form that English adopted, arriving in the language during the sixteenth century by way of French. The same capere root sits inside a whole family of familiar words such as 'capture', 'receive', and 'accept', and the buried 'cept' spelling is the part that trips writers, since the sound gives no hint of the silent logic behind it. Knowing that 'cept' always means 'take' is the surest way to remember why interception is spelled with a 'c' rather than an 's'.

How the word is built

• inter- (between)
• cept (from Latin capere: to take, seize)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)