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interference - 9 dictionary results

in⋅ter⋅fer⋅ence

   [in-ter-feer-uhns]
–noun
1. an act, fact, or instance of interfering.
2. something that interferes.
3. Physics. the process in which two or more light, sound, or electromagnetic waves of the same frequency combine to reinforce or cancel each other, the amplitude of the resulting wave being equal to the sum of the amplitudes of the combining waves.
4. Radio.
a. a jumbling of radio signals, caused by the reception of undesired ones.
b. the signals or device producing the incoherence.
5. Football.
a. the act of a teammate or of teammates running ahead of a ball-carrier and blocking prospective tacklers out of the way: to run interference for the halfback.
b. such a teammate or such teammates collectively: to follow one's interference.
c. the act of illegally hindering an opponent from catching a forward pass or a kick.
6. Aeronautics. the situation that arises when the aerodynamic influence of one surface of an aircraft conflicts with the influence of another surface.
7. Linguistics.
a. (in bilingualism and foreign-language learning) the overlapping of two languages.
b. deviation from the norm of either language in such a situation.
8. the distorting or inhibiting effect of previously learned behavior on subsequent learning.
9. Psychology. the forgetting of information or an event due to inability to reconcile it with conflicting information obtained subsequently.
—Idiom
10. run interference, Informal. to deal with troublesome or time-consuming matters, as for a colleague or supervisor, esp. to forestall problems.
Origin:
1775–85; interfere + -ence
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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Language Translation for : interference
Spanish: interferencia, German: die Einmischung, Japanese: 干渉
View 30 other languages »
in·ter·fer·ence     (ĭn'tər-fîr'əns)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
    1. The act or an instance of hindering, obstructing, or impeding.
    2. Something that hinders, obstructs, or impedes.
    3. Sports Illegal obstruction or hindrance of an opposing player, such as hindrance of a receiver by a defender in football, hindrance of a fielder by a base runner in baseball, or checking a player not in possession of the puck in ice hockey.
    4. Football The legal blocking of defensive tacklers to protect and make way for the ball carrier.
    5. The inhibition or prevention of clear reception of broadcast signals.
    6. The distorted portion of a received signal.
    1. Sports Illegal obstruction or hindrance of an opposing player, such as hindrance of a receiver by a defender in football, hindrance of a fielder by a base runner in baseball, or checking a player not in possession of the puck in ice hockey.
    2. Football The legal blocking of defensive tacklers to protect and make way for the ball carrier.
    3. The inhibition or prevention of clear reception of broadcast signals.
    4. The distorted portion of a received signal.
  3. Physics The variation of wave amplitude that occurs when waves of the same or different frequency come together.
  4. Electronics
    1. The inhibition or prevention of clear reception of broadcast signals.
    2. The distorted portion of a received signal.
  5. The negative or distorting effect that new learning can have on previous learning or that previous learning can have on new learning.
in'ter·fer·en'tial (-fə-rěn'shəl) adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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interference

noun
1. a policy of intervening in the affairs of other countries [syn: intervention] [ant: noninterference] 
2. the act of hindering or obstructing or impeding [syn: hindrance] 
3. electrical or acoustic activity that can disturb communication [syn: noise] 
4. (American football) blocking a player's path with your body; "he ran interference for the quarterback" 
5. any obstruction that impedes or is burdensome [syn: hindrance] 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

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interference   (ĭn'tər-fîr'əns)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The superposition of two or more waves propagating through a given region. Depending on how the peaks and troughs of the interacting waves coincide with each other, the resulting wave amplitude can be higher or smaller than the amplitudes of the individual waves. When two waves interact so that they rise and fall together more than half the time, the amplitude of the resulting wave is greater than that of the larger wave. This is called constructive interference. When two waves interact such that they rise and fall together less than half the time, the resulting amplitude is smaller than the amplitude of the stronger wave. This interference is called destructive interference. It is possible for two waves of the same magnitude to completely cancel out in destructive interference where their sum is always zero, that is, where their peaks and troughs are perfectly opposed. See more at wave.
  2. In electronics, the distortion or interruption of one broadcast signal by others.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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interference

The disturbance that results when two waves come together at a single point in space; the disturbance is the sum of the contribution of each wave. For example, if two crests of identical waves arrive together, the net disturbance will be twice as large as each incoming wave; if the crest of one wave arrives with the trough of another, there will be no disturbance at all.

Note: One common example of interference is the appearance of dark bands when a light is viewed through a window screen.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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interference in·ter·fer·ence (ĭn'tər-fēr'əns)
n.

  1. The variation of wave amplitude that occurs when waves of the same or nearly the same frequency come together.
  2. The condition in which infection of a cell by one virus prevents superinfection by another virus.
  3. The condition in which superinfection by a second virus prevents effects that would result from infection by either virus alone, even though both viruses persist.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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Main Entry: in·ter·fer·ence
Pronunciation: -'fir-&n(t)s
Function: noun
1 : the act or process of interfering
2 : the mutual effect on meeting of two wave trains (as of light or sound) that constitutes alternating areas of increased and decreased amplitude (as light and dark lines or louder and softersound)
3 : partial or complete inhibition or sometimes facilitation of other genetic crossovers in the vicinity of a chromosomal locus where a preceding crossover has occurred
4 : the disturbing effect of new learning on the performance of previously learned behavior with which it is inconsistent —compare NEGATIVE TRANSFER
5 : prevention of typical growth and development of a virus in a suitable host bythe presence of another virus in the same host individual —see INTERFERENCE PHENOMENON

Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

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Main Entry: in·ter·fer·ence
Function: noun
1 a : the act or an instance of interfering <interference with contract> b : something that interferes
2 : a hearing to determine the priority of invention at issue in a patent dispute

Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.

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Interference

In`ter*fer"ence\, n. [See Interfere.]

1. The act or state of interfering; as, the stoppage of a machine by the interference of some of its parts; a meddlesome interference in the business of others.

2. (Physics) The mutual influence, under certain conditions, of two streams of light, or series of pulsations of sound, or, generally, two waves or vibrations of any kind, producing certain characteristic phenomena, as colored fringes, dark bands, or darkness, in the case of light, silence or increased intensity in sounds; neutralization or superposition of waves generally.

Note: The term is most commonly applied to light, and the undulatory theory of light affords the proper explanation of the phenomena which are considered to be produced by the superposition of waves, and are thus substantially identical in their origin with the phenomena of heat, sound, waves of water, and the like.

3. (Patent Law) The act or state of interfering, or of claiming a right to the same invention.

Interference figures (Optics), the figures observed when certain sections of crystallized bodies are viewed in converging polarized light; thus, a section of a uniaxial crystal, cut normal to the vertical axis, shows a series of concentric colored rings with a single black cross; -- so called because produced by the interference of luminous waves.

Interference fringe. (Optics) See Fringe.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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