interval

play

noun in·ter·val \ˈin-tər-vəl\

Definition of interval

1a : a space of time between events or statesb British : intermission
2a : a space between objects, units, points, or statesb : the difference in pitch between two tones
3 : a set of real numbers between two numbers either including or excluding one or both of them
4 : one of a series of fast-paced exercises interspersed with slower ones or brief rests for training (as of an athlete)

intervallic

play \ˌin-tər-ˈva-lik\ adjective

See interval defined for English-language learners

See interval defined for kids

Examples of interval in a Sentence

a three-month interval between jobs
There might be long intervals during which nothing happens.
The sun shone for brief intervals throughout the day.
There will be a 20-minute interval between acts one and two.

Recent Examples of interval from the Web

Its scarcity is predetermined by the code: New bitcoins are introduced into the system at regular intervals through a process called mining.

— brian patrick eha, Fortune, "Can Bitcoin’s First Felon Help Make Cryptocurrency a Trillion-Dollar Market?", 26 June 2017
The team projects that intervals between bleaching will get shorter and shorter if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions continue to rise.

— dennis normile, Science | AAAS, "Almost all of the 29 coral reefs on U.N. World Heritage list damaged by bleaching", 26 June 2017
This summer, Cadre plans to start allowing investors to resell their real estate holdings at set intervals.

— ellen huet, Bloomberg.com, "Startup’s Ties to Kushners Came With Benefits, Until It Got Complicated", 7 June 2017
Once the net is raised, the dancers rotate between bits of choreography and tangling themselves up in yarn, assembling and disassembling the textiles at intervals throughout the piece.

— lauren warnecke, chicagotribune.com, "Dancing the beauty of utility in site-specific works at Pivot Arts Fest", 5 June 2017
A lawn mown at this higher level will stay green longer into summer and show drought stress later, which increases intervals between watering.

— dennis patton, kansascity, "Preparing your lawn for summer’s heat", 2 June 2017
Those circles are placed along the forecast track specific time intervals (12, 24, 36 hours, etc.).

— leigh morgan, AL.com, "New for hurricane season: No-name storms get warnings and a cone makeover", 1 June 2017
The high-intensity interval training that challenges the heart rate while burning calories combined with a schedule that keeps things interesting by mixing up workouts each day yields results that other exercises or routines don’t, Fearer explained.

— georgann yara, azcentral, "He liked the workout so much, he bought a franchise", 30 May 2017
Park Hyatt Chicago: The hotel has paired up with local trainers from the Shred415 workout program to offer guests a calorie-blasting interval training session on the spa's garden terrace.

— kate springer, CNN, "Workouts that wow: The world's most amazing hotel gyms", 29 May 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of interval

Middle English intervalle, from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French entreval, from Latin intervallum space between ramparts, interval, from inter- + vallum rampart — more at wall

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

INTERVAL Defined for English Language Learners

interval

play

noun

Definition of interval for English Language Learners

: a period of time between events
music : the difference in pitch between two notes

INTERVAL Defined for Kids

interval

play

noun in·ter·val \ˈin-tər-vəl\

Definition of interval for Students

1 : a period of time between events or states There was a short interval between shows.
2 : a space between things Signs were posted at regular intervals.
3 : the difference in pitch between two tones