interference
Pluralinterferences (some meanings)
- 1The act of getting in the way of something, or something that blocks it.
Like someone pushing your hand while you are trying to write.
Her constant interference in my plans really annoyed me.
The new manager stopped all interference from outside the team.
Similarmeddling, intervention, intrusion, obstruction, involvement
- 2Unwanted noise that spoils a radio or TV signal.
Like trying to hear a friend talk while a loud machine runs nearby.
Heavy storms caused interference on our television all evening.
We couldn't hear the radio show because of interference.
Similarstatic, noise, distortion
- 3When a player illegally blocks or gets in the way of an opponent in a ball game.
Like someone grabbing your arm so you can't catch a ball.
The referee called interference after he grabbed the receiver early.
She was penalized for interference during the play.
Note
- 4The pattern made when two sets of waves meet and combine.
Like two sets of water ripples crossing and making a new pattern.
When the two ripples met, interference made a clear pattern.
Light passing through the slits showed bands from interference.
Note
- 5In chess, blocking the line between an attacking piece and its defender by putting a piece in the way.
Like stepping between a guard and the person they are protecting.
She won the game with a clever interference that cut off the rook.
His interference blocked the bishop from guarding the king.
Note
- 6When someone who speaks two languages wrongly brings words or grammar from one into the other.
Like mixing up the rules of two games you both know.
His Spanish interference made him put the words in the wrong order.
Beginners often show interference from their first language.
Similartransfer
Note
- 7In US patent law, a legal process that decides which inventor created an invention first.
Like two people claiming they reached the finish line first, with a judge deciding.
The two companies were caught in an interference over the same invention.
The inventor won the interference and kept the patent rights.
Note
Practice
Can you tell the meanings of interference apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.
Origin
From "interfere" plus the ending "-ence." The physics meaning was likely first used by Thomas Young around 1801.