Uninterrupted

How to spell uninterrupted

13 letters · 5 syllables

How to pronounce uninterrupted

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does uninterrupted mean?

1. adjectiveContinuing without any break, pause, or interference.

Uninterrupted in a sentence

• The new fibre line gives the office an uninterrupted internet connection all day.

• She finally got an uninterrupted stretch of sleep after the baby settled.

Where does uninterrupted come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on the Latin verb interrumpere, which literally meant 'to break apart in the middle', joining inter- 'between' with rumpere 'to break, burst'. The same rumpere root surfaces in a whole family of English words about breaking, including 'rupture', 'erupt', 'disrupt', and 'bankrupt', which can help you remember the single p and the t in the middle. English took 'interrupt' from this Latin source in the late 1300s, originally in the sense of breaking in on someone's speech or action. The native English prefix un- 'not' was then attached to the past participle, giving 'uninterrupted' to describe something that continues without any break. The spelling trap lives in the seam where the prefixes meet: writers must keep both n sounds in 'un-in-' and resist doubling letters elsewhere.

How the word is built

• un- (not)
• inter- (between)
• rupt (break, from Latin rumpere)
• -ed (adjective suffix)