interruption

/ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/

//ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"interruption" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“interruption” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,111. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,111
frequency rank, English
2,140
“I” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of interrupting, or the state of being interrupted.

Corpus desk

Index EN-interruption · interruption · English

interruption · rank #18,111 · 17 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,111
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,140
  • PHOTO-FINISH insertion

Nearest frequency peer: insertion (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “interruption”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “interruption” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

interruption vs interception
83% similar
interruption vs interrupting
83% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for interruption
PropertyValue
Headwordinterruption
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/
Letters12
Frequency rank#18,111
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “interruption”

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).interruptionlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “insertion” (#18,110), “intrigue” (#18,112), “infect” (#18,109). Among 2,140 “I” headwords, “interruption” is #18,111. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around interruption (IPA /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #18,111 among 2,140 “I” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for interruption, with forms such as "inetrruption", "innterruption", and "interrpution". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "interception", "interrupting", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English interrupcioun, from Old French interrupcion, from Latin interruptio. The correct English form is interruption, spelled I-N-T-E-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of interrupting, or the state of being interrupted.
  2. 2
    the act of breaking into someone else’s speech.
  3. 3
    A time interval during which there is a cessation of something.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how interruption appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.
  2. The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing"[…]and so on.

Etymology

From Middle English interrupcioun, from Old French interrupcion, from Latin interruptio.

Synonyms

hiatusmoratoriumrecesspause

This word in other languages

interrupción(Español)interruption(Français)Unterbrechung(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • inetrruption
  • innterruption
  • interrpution
  • interrupiton
  • interrupption
  • interrupsion
  • interruptino
  • interruptionn
  • interruptoin
  • interrupttion
  • interrutpion
  • interuption
  • interurption
  • intreruption
  • intterruption
  • itnerruption
  • niterruption

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of interruption - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

inetrruption2innterruption1interrpution2interrupiton2interrupption1interrupsion1interruptino2interruptionn1
Edit distance from "interruption"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "interruption"?
"interruption" is spelled I-N-T-E-R-R-U-P-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/.
What does "interruption" mean?
As a noun, "interruption" means: The act of interrupting, or the state of being interrupted.
What words are commonly confused with "interruption"?
"interruption" is commonly confused with "interception", "interrupting". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "interruption"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "interruption" is /ˌɪntəˈɹʌpʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "interruption"?
From Middle English interrupcioun, from Old French interrupcion, from Latin interruptio. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "interruption", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

legitimately#18,120pathological#18,152cosmopolitan#18,049colonization#18,045

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

referencing17 variantstemperament17 variantsundesirable17 variantsadolescence17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list