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irruption

 - 3 dictionary results

ir⋅rup⋅tion

  [i-ruhp-shuhn]
Use irruption in a Sentence
–noun
1. a breaking or bursting in; a violent incursion or invasion.
2. Ecology. a sudden increase in an animal population.
Origin:
1570–80; < L irruptiōn- (s. of irruptiō), equiv. to irrupt(us), ptp. of irrumpere to burst into (see ir- 1 , rupture ) + -iōn- -ion
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To irruption
ir·rupt   (ĭ-rŭpt')   
intr.v.   ir·rupt·ed, ir·rupt·ing, ir·rupts

  1. To break or burst in.

  2. Ecology To increase rapidly and irregularly in number: In the absence of predators, the island's rodent population irrupted.


[Latin irrumpere, irrupt- : in-, in; see in-2 + rumpere, to break; see reup- in Indo-European roots.]
ir·rup'tion n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Medical Dictionary

irruption ir·rup·tion (ĭ-rŭp'shən)
n.
The act or process of breaking through to a surface.

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