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the way, or before arrival at the destined place; to cause to stop on the passage; as, to intercept a letter; a telegram will intercept him at Paris. God will shortly intercept your breath. Joye.

One who, or that which, intercepts. Shak.

The act of intercepting; as, interception of a letter; interception of the enemy.

Intercepting or tending to intercept.

r, or other celestial object, above the horizon, measured by the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between such point and the horizon. It is either true or apparent; true when measured from the rational or real horizon, apparent when from the sensible or apparent horizon.

One of the parts intercepted between the joints; also, a subdivision into parts at regular or irregular intervals as a result of serial intermission in growth, as in the cane, grasses, etc. Lindley.

rises with a star, or other celestial body, in a right sphere; or the arc of the equator intercepted between the first point of Aries and that point of the equator that comes to the meridian with the star; -- expressed either in degrees or in time. -- Oblique ascension (Astron.), an arc of the equator, intercepted be…

An arc of the horizon intercepted between the meridian of the place and a vertical circle passing through the center of any object; as, the azimuth of a star; the azimuth or bearing of a line surveying.

An underground gallery excavated to intercept and destroy the mining of an enemy.

communication; to cut off (the flow of) steam from (the boiler to) a steam engine. (d) To intercept; as,, to cut off an enemy's retreat.

A board placed on the fore part of a carriage, sleigh, or other vechicle, to intercept water, mud, or snow, thrown up by the heels of the horses; -- in England commonly called splashboard.

An interception or obscuration of the light of the sun, moon, or other luminous body, by the intervention of some other body, either between it and the eye, or between the luminous body and that illuminated by it. A lunar eclipse is caused by the moon passing through the earth's shadow; a solar eclipse, by the moon com…

The distance of a celestial object above the horizon, or the arc of a vertical circle intercepted between it and the horizon; altitude; as, the elevation of the pole, or of a star.

Feeling; perception. [R.] To intercept and have a more kindly feel of its genial warmth. Hazlitt.

pt to escape; to flee; as, an enemy or a coward flies. See Note under Flee. Fly, ere evil intercept thy flight. Milton. Whither shall I fly to escape their hands Shak.

To obstruct or stop up, as a way; to stop the passage of on highway; to intercept on the road, as goods on the way to market. To forestall the market, to buy or contract for merchandise or provision on its way to market, with the intention of selling it again at a higher price; to dissuade persons from bringing their g…

To set on the head; as, to head a cask. To head off, to intercept; to get before; as, an officer heads off a thief who is escaping. -- To head up, to close, as a cask or barrel, by fitting a head to.

Intercepting; stopping. -- n.

To shut off or out from a place or course, by something intervening; to intercept; to cut off; to interrupt. Mitford. So all passage of external air into the receiver may be intercluded. Boyle.

Interception; a stopping