as in grabbing
to stop, seize, or interrupt while in progress or on course
the cat was about to hightail it out the front door when I intercepted her
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Recent Examples of intercepting
The La Jolla High School player was a force on both sides of the ball, catching 52 passes for 769 yards and 10 touchdowns on offense and intercepting eight passes and forcing three fumbles as a defender.
—
Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2025
However, the game entirely swung in the Eagles' favor after intercepting Mahomes on a pass into the end zone that hit Kelce in the hands, which would have otherwise given the Chiefs a fourth quarter lead had Kelce made the catch.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
The Marion County Sheriff's Office learned that the employee might be involved in narcotics smuggling after intercepting jail communications, according to a press release.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 16 Sep. 2025
But the Pats ultimately shut the Dolphins offense out in the fourth quarter, forcing a punt, intercepting Tagovailoa once and sacking him four times.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
The Panthers have surely taken copious notes on how Maryland scored a season-opening 39-7 win over FAU, intercepting Owls quarterback Caden Veltkamp four times.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
Sumrall brought up the uniforms in his postgame news conference after Tulane ran away with the game, intercepting Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone four times and also forcing him to lose a fumble.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting or electronically jamming 546 drones and decoys, along with 31 missiles.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has released footage of fighter jets honing their skills at intercepting Russian and Chinese bombers over Alaska.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
Clark Fahrenthold, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Sep. 2025
However, the game entirely swung in the Eagles' favor after intercepting Mahomes on a pass into the end zone that hit Kelce in the hands, which would have otherwise given the Chiefs a fourth quarter lead had Kelce made the catch.
—Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
The Marion County Sheriff's Office learned that the employee might be involved in narcotics smuggling after intercepting jail communications, according to a press release.
—Ryan Murphy, IndyStar, 16 Sep. 2025
But the Pats ultimately shut the Dolphins offense out in the fourth quarter, forcing a punt, intercepting Tagovailoa once and sacking him four times.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 15 Sep. 2025
The Panthers have surely taken copious notes on how Maryland scored a season-opening 39-7 win over FAU, intercepting Owls quarterback Caden Veltkamp four times.
—Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 11 Sep. 2025
Sumrall brought up the uniforms in his postgame news conference after Tulane ran away with the game, intercepting Northwestern quarterback Preston Stone four times and also forcing him to lose a fumble.
—Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2025
The Ukrainian Air Force reported intercepting or electronically jamming 546 drones and decoys, along with 31 missiles.
—Katya Soldak, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has released footage of fighter jets honing their skills at intercepting Russian and Chinese bombers over Alaska.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intercepting
Verb
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In the footage, a uniformed officer is seen forcibly grabbing the female passenger’s arm and yanking her towards the aisle.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
27 Sep. 2025
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Go out there and jump and grabbing balls out of the air.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In terms of how the oral medicine works, JOURNAVX provides relief by blocking pain signals found in the periphery, not in the brain, like traditional opioids.—
Essence,
Essence,
25 Sep. 2025
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Per city guidance, leave a one-foot gap between the curb and the leaf piles to avoid blocking storm drains and ensure all leaves can be picked up.—
Maia Pandey,
jsonline.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Today, the directors are capturing some of the short’s biggest scares.—
J. Kim Murphy,
Variety,
26 Sep. 2025
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In 2025, Thomas Detry made history in the desert, capturing his first career PGA TOUR win and becoming the first Belgian champion on the PGA TOUR.—
Ed Masley,
AZCentral.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Rodriguez, 23, didn’t spend a ton of time catching in the Yankees’ system due to New York’s abundance of catching prospects, catching only 172 games over six seasons in the minors.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
23 Sep. 2025
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The drive finished with Smith catching a four-yard touchdown on fourth down to give the Eagles the lead — the eighth catch by Smith on nine targets.—
Zach Berman,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Intercepting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intercepting. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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