in⋅ter⋅rupt
[v. in-tuh-ruhpt; n. in-tuh-ruhpt] 
təˈrʌpt
| 1. | to cause or make a break in the continuity or uniformity of (a course, process, condition, etc.). |
| 2. | to break off or cause to cease, as in the middle of something: He interrupted his work to answer the bell. |
| 3. | to stop (a person) in the midst of doing or saying something, esp. by an interjected remark: May I interrupt you to comment on your last remark? |
| 4. | to cause a break or discontinuance; interfere with action or speech, esp. by interjecting a remark: Please don't interrupt. |
| 5. | Computers. a hardware signal that breaks the flow of program execution and transfers control to a predetermined storage location so that another procedure can be followed or a new operation carried out. |
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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| Spanish: | interrumpir, | German: | unterbrechen, | Japanese: | じゃまする |
| in·ter·rupt
(ĭn'tə-rŭpt') Pronunciation Key
v. in·ter·rupt·ed, in·ter·rupt·ing, in·ter·rupts v. tr.
v. intr. To break in on an action or discourse. n. Computer Science
[Middle English interrupten, from Old French interrupte, interrupted, from Latin interruptus, past participle of interrumpere, to break off : inter-, inter- + rumpere, to break; see reup- in Indo-European roots.] in'ter·rupt'i·ble adj., in'ter·rup'tion n., in'ter·rup'tive adj. |
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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| interrupt | |
noun | |
| 1. | a signal that temporarily stops the execution of a program so that another procedure can be carried out |
verb | |
| 1. | make a break in; "We interrupt the program for the following messages" |
| 2. | destroy the peace or tranquility of; "Don't interrupt me when I'm reading" |
| 3. | interfere in someone else's activity; "Please don't interrupt me while I'm on the phone" |
| 4. | terminate; "She interrupted her pregnancy"; "break a lucky streak"; "break the cycle of poverty" |
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interrupt programming
1. An asynchronous event that suspends normal processing and temporarily diverts the flow of control through an "interrupt handler" routine.
Interrupts may be caused by both hardware (I/O, timer, machine check) and software (supervisor, system call or trap instruction).
In general the computer responds to an interrupt by storing the information about the current state of the running program; storing information to identify the source of the interrupt; and invoking a first-level interrupt handler. This is usually a kernel level privileged process that can discover the precise cause of the interrupt (e.g. if several devices share one interrupt) and what must be done to keep operating system tables (such as the process table) updated. This first-level handler may then call another handler, e.g. one associated with the particular device which generated the interrupt.
2. Under MS-DOS, nearly synonymous with "system call" because the OS and BIOS routines are both called using the INT instruction (see interrupt list) and because programmers so often have to bypass the operating system (going directly to a BIOS interrupt) to get reasonable performance.
[The Jargon File]
(1995-02-07)
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Interrupt
In`ter*rupt"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Interrupted; p. pr. & vb. n. Interrupting.] [L. interruptus, p. p. of interrumpere to interrupt; inter between + rumpere to break. See Rupture.]1. To break into, or between; to stop, or hinder by breaking in upon the course or progress of; to interfere with the current or motion of; to cause a temporary cessation of; as, to interrupt the remarks speaking. Do not interrupt me in my course. --Shak. 2. To divide; to separate; to break the monotony of; as, the evenness of the road was not interrupted by a single hill.Interrupt
In`ter*rupt"\, p. a. [L. interruptus, p. p.] Broken; interrupted. [Obs.] --Milton.Cite This Source
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