# interval

Pronunciation: US say "IN-tur-vuhl" /ˈɪntɚvəl/; UK/AUS say "IN-tuh-vuhl" /ˈɪntəvəl/

## Noun

1. A length or period of time between two points or events.
   - Simple: A length of time between two events or points.
   - _A brief interval passed before she answered the question._
   - _The guards changed posts at regular intervals through the night._
2. A distance in space between two points or objects.
   - Simple: The space or distance between two things.
   - _A small interval separated the two parked cars._
   - _The fence posts stand at equal intervals along the field._
3. A break between the parts of a performance such as a play or concert. *(British, India)*
   - Simple: A short break between the parts of a play, concert, or other performance.
   - _During the interval, the audience went out to the bar for drinks._
   - _The orchestra tuned up again after the interval._
4. The difference in pitch between two notes, or the two notes themselves considered together.
   - Simple: The difference in pitch between two musical notes.
   - _The interval of a perfect fifth gives the melody its open sound._
   - _She trained her ear to recognize each interval by sound alone._
5. An unbroken stretch of the real number line, which may also be empty or consist of a single point.
   - Simple: A set of all the numbers between two points on a number line.
   - _The function stays continuous over the entire interval._
   - _We split the domain into several smaller intervals for the calculation._
6. A scheduled break between the periods of play in a game; half time.
   - Simple: A break in the middle of a game, between two periods of play.
   - _The coach gave a sharp talk during the interval to lift the players._
   - _Both sides went in level at the interval._
7. One of the two breaks in a day's cricket, for lunch and for tea, that separate its three sessions of play.
   - Simple: A break for lunch or tea between the parts of a day's cricket.
   - _Rain delayed the start, so the first interval came later than usual._
   - _The batsmen added thirty runs before the tea interval._

## Origin

It came through Middle English and Old French from Latin intervallum, meaning "space between, distance, or pause," literally the space between two palisades or walls. The Latin word combines inter ("between") with vallum ("palisade, wall").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/interval (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).