intermission

play

noun in·ter·mis·sion \ ˌin-tər-ˈmi-shən \

Definition of intermission

1 :the act of intermitting :the state of being intermitted

2 :an interval between the parts of an entertainment (such as the acts of a play)

—

intermissionless

adjective

See intermission defined for English-language learners

See intermission defined for kids

Examples of intermission in a Sentence

We'll return after a brief intermission.
an awkward intermission between speeches

Recent Examples of intermission from the Web

Games feature four 15-minute quarters and a halftime intermission.

— rachel roberts, idahostatesman, "‘Whatever you know about outdoor soccer, forget it.’ Arena soccer hits Boise," 9 Aug. 2017
After intermission, company General Director Aidan Lang announced from the stage that Sunday’s tenor, Dominick Chenes, was in the audience and would take over the role for the remainder of the performance.

— melinda bargreen, The Seattle Times, "Review: Seattle Opera’s ‘Madame Butterfly’ packs an emotional punch," 7 Aug. 2017
Yet despite the long intermission, the show returned still spitting enough fire to reclaim folks' attention.

— steve johnson, chicagotribune.com, "'Game of Thrones' returns with murder and intrigue: a recap," 17 July 2017
The show has a 20-minute intermission, which means the evening performance ends after 9 p.m. Even in the summer, that can be late for little ones, and my youngest child and a young boy in the row ahead of us fell asleep before the final curtain.

— jennifer jhon, South Florida Parenting, "Jumping, juggling bugs captivate children at 'Ovo'," 14 July 2017
There’s room, too, for covers of hits by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin and the Beatles in the intermission-less program.

— tim smith, baltimoresun.com, "On world tour, Idina Menzel aims to keep things fresh for herself and audience," 14 July 2017
The Mavericks pushed their lead to as many as 14 points before going to intermission ahead 41-31.

— stephen schroats, star-telegram, "Dallas Mavericks reach Vegas quarterfinals behind Smith’s big night," 13 July 2017
The 17-year-old Barrett exceeded his tournament average in the first half with 25 points on 7-of-16 shooting as Canada carried a 45-42 lead into intermission.

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "No gold medal for John Calipari's United States U19 after loss to Canada," 8 July 2017
After the performances with the FWSO, before an intermission or with the last performer of the evening, the players exit, retreating to their instrument cases sitting on tables in the left and right wings.

— star-telegram, "Keyed Up: Behind the curtains of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition," 5 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intermission.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.