What does interrupter mean?
An interrupter is principally a person who cuts into other people's speech, often repeatedly or at an awkward moment, though the term can also denote a device that interrupts a process or circuit. In conversation, it is usually mildly critical: calling someone an interrupter suggests rudeness or poor listening, although the word can be used more neutrally when the person's interruptions are relevant to a discussion. In electrical and industrial contexts, a circuit interrupter is a safety device that opens a circuit to stop a dangerous current. The word's general sense is therefore defined by interruption: something or someone that cuts in. The common plural is interrupters. Interrupter should not be confused with interpreter, which means someone who translates spoken or written language. Alongside conversational criticism, the term has a technical use in electrical engineering, so its meaning can shift from social behaviour to a mechanism designed to bring an activity or flow to a deliberate halt.
nounA person who interrupts others, especially someone who habitually cuts into a conversation. Also, a device or mechanism that opens a circuit or interrupts a process, particularly for safety.
- A person who interrupts another person's speech, conversation, or activity.
- A device or mechanism that interrupts a process, especially one that opens an electrical circuit as a safety measure.
"The moderator asked the interrupter to let the speaker finish."
"The moderator asked the interrupter to let the speaker finish."
"The safety interrupter opened automatically when the temperature became unsafe."
The standard plural of the noun is "interrupters."
"The two interrupters continued talking until the moderator asked them to stop."
The same word can describe the person who cuts off a speaker—and the device that cuts off a dangerous current.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does interrupter come from?
The word was formed in English from "interrupt" plus the suffix "-er," which indicates an agent or thing that performs an action. The stem "interrupt" comes through French from Latin interrumpre, meaning "to break between" or "to interrupt," formed from inter- ("between") and rumpere ("to break"). English relatives such as "interruption," "interrupting," and "interruptive" preserve this history, while "rupture" continues the Latin root rumpere through a separate development.
How interrupter is actually used
Applied to a person, the word is usually neutral to mildly negative and can imply discourtesy or habitual interruption. It is less common than the more general words "interrupt" and "interruption" and can sound more categorical.
Easily confused with interrupter
An interpreter translates spoken or written language, whereas an interrupter cuts into someone else's speech.
Interruptor is a variant spelling of interrupter, especially used for electrical switching devices; the two forms can refer to the same thing.