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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of intercepting
On the farthest rung of awfulness, the New York Jets became the first team in NFL history to go an entire season without intercepting a pass.
—
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2026
Green Bay won the first meeting between these two, intercepting Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on a late fourth down to preserve a 28-21 victory.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Jan. 2026
Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe tipped the pass and McCaffrey couldn’t grab it, leading to Drake Thomas intercepting it and going out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 4 Jan. 2026
The nickel cornerback stymied Ohio State’s first true scoring chance by jumping Brandon Inniss’ route, intercepting a Sayin pass and returning it 72 yards for a touchdown to put Miami up 14-0.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Jan. 2026
Texas Tech’s defense then stepped up again, intercepting Moore on fourth down to give their offense the ball on their own 45-yard line.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
In the third period, Minten made a sharp play on the backcheck by intercepting a Vancouver puck.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
When fired for real in the film, the first intercepting missile malfunctions and falls back to earth.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Three variants were listed, ranging from 3 to 32 megajoules of energy capacity, with the system advertised as capable of intercepting both cruise and ballistic missiles.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2025
Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 6 Jan. 2026
Green Bay won the first meeting between these two, intercepting Bears quarterback Caleb Williams on a late fourth down to preserve a 28-21 victory.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Jan. 2026
Seahawks linebacker Boye Mafe tipped the pass and McCaffrey couldn’t grab it, leading to Drake Thomas intercepting it and going out of bounds at the 3-yard line.
—Chris Biderman, Sacbee.com, 4 Jan. 2026
The nickel cornerback stymied Ohio State’s first true scoring chance by jumping Brandon Inniss’ route, intercepting a Sayin pass and returning it 72 yards for a touchdown to put Miami up 14-0.
—Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Jan. 2026
Texas Tech’s defense then stepped up again, intercepting Moore on fourth down to give their offense the ball on their own 45-yard line.
—Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 1 Jan. 2026
In the third period, Minten made a sharp play on the backcheck by intercepting a Vancouver puck.
—Fluto Shinzawa, New York Times, 21 Dec. 2025
When fired for real in the film, the first intercepting missile malfunctions and falls back to earth.
—Griff Griffin, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Three variants were listed, ranging from 3 to 32 megajoules of energy capacity, with the system advertised as capable of intercepting both cruise and ballistic missiles.
—Kapil Kajal, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for intercepting
Verb
-
Take after the actress by grabbing them in black, or choose from six additional colors, including burgundy and deep brown.—
Averi Baudler,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Healthy cooking often boils down to accessibility and convenience; busy lives can leave people grabbing less nutritious alternatives.—
Virginia Willis,
AJC.com,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
In the 47-second video, the agent can be seen walking around Good’s maroon Honda Pilot, which is in the middle of the street blocking traffic.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
10 Jan. 2026
-
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension accuses the FBI of blocking it from accessing evidence in the investigation.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
10 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
By capturing and using the static electricity in compressed air, this system offers a sustainable way to generate electricity while also neutralizing hazardous charges that pose safety risks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Like Dostoyevsky, Capote doesn’t portray his killers as demonic ciphers, instead capturing their messy complexity.—
Patrick Radden Keefe,
New Yorker,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Through the air, their pass-catching group is one of the worst in the playoffs.—
Austin Mock,
New York Times,
7 Jan. 2026
-
At Oklahoma, Livingstone will be catching passes from John Mateer, who completed 62% of his passes for 2,885 yards in 2025, accumulating 14 touchdown passes to go with 11 interceptions.—
David Eckert,
Austin American Statesman,
6 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Intercepting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/intercepting. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share