interrupter

or in·ter·rup·tor

[ in-tuh-ruhp-ter ]

noun

1. a person or thing that interrupts.
2. Electricity. a device for interrupting or periodically opening and closing a circuit, as in a doorbell.

interrupter

/ ˌɪntəˈrʌptə /

noun

1. a person or thing that interrupts
2. an electromechanical device for opening and closing an electric circuit

Word History and Origins

Origin of interrupter¹

First recorded in 1505–15; interrupt + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Scott strengthened an existing program that deploys violence interrupters in some of Baltimore’s most dangerous neighborhoods.

From Seattle Times

Then light machine guns, mounted on the fronts of planes, were equipped with “interrupter” gears that allowed the guns to fire through the propellers without hitting the blades.

From Literature

The handful of experts who have worked directly with the drug cast it as a powerful addiction interrupter — one that can quell the excruciating symptoms of opioid withdrawal and tame the cravings to use again.

From New York Times

Those characteristics include the same number of exons, which encode the protein, and phases of introns, which act as interrupters to stop or start splicing of the RNA molecules transcribed from the gene.

From Science Daily

“If all the violence interrupter is doing is canvassing the neighborhood three times a week, that’s not going to be enough. There needs to be more of a person-specific strategy,” Mr. Muhammad told The Times.

From Washington Times

Related Words

• burglar
• criminal
• infiltrator
• interloper
• invader
• raider
• squatter
• thief
• trespasser