What does intercepting mean?
Intercepting means stopping, catching, or diverting someone or something before it reaches its intended destination. The word is especially common in contexts involving aircraft, vehicles, messages, signals, and military activity: a system may be designed for intercepting communications, while fighters may intercept an aircraft. In everyday conversation, intercepting can also refer to interrupting a conversation or playfully getting someone's attention before they arrive somewhere. The word often carries a sense of purposeful action and control, whether the interception is routine, legally authorized, or unauthorized. Its Latin roots help clarify the image: inter- means “between,” and capere means “take,” so interception is fundamentally the act of taking or catching something on its way somewhere else.
verb (present participle and gerund)To intercept someone or something is to stop, catch, or divert them before they reach their destination. It can also mean to prevent a message, signal, or communication from reaching its intended recipient.
- To stop, capture, or divert a person, vehicle, aircraft, or other object before it reaches its destination.
- To interrupt or prevent a message, signal, or communication from reaching its intended recipient.
"The fighter aircraft was ordered to intercept the unidentified aircraft before it crossed the border."
"The coast guard intercepted the vessel before it entered the restricted waters."
"The officials were accused of intercepting private communications without authorization."
To intercept is literally to take or catch between: the word comes from Latin inter- meaning “between” and capere meaning “take.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of intercepting
Intercepting derives from intercept, which comes through French from Latin interceptare, formed from inter- (“between”) and capere (“take, seize”). The present participle ending -ing was added in English as part of the verb form. The same Latin root capere underlies words such as capture, captive, and captivity, reflecting a shared idea of taking, holding, or seizing.
Related word forms
How intercepting is actually used
Intercepting is commonly used in military, transport, communications, and law-enforcement contexts. It can sound somewhat formal or technical, while in everyday use it often describes stopping or diverting someone or something in an informal, sometimes humorous, way.
Easily confused with intercepting
Intercepting means stopping or diverting something in its course, whereas interpreting means explaining the meaning of something such as a message or text.