To intercept means to stop or catch something while it's moving from one place to another. When a football player intercepts a pass, he catches the ball that was meant for someone on the other team. When a spy intercepts a secret message, she captures it before it reaches its intended recipient.

The word comes from situations where you need to get between something and where it's headed. A goalkeeper might intercept the soccer ball before it reaches the net. Coast Guard ships intercept smugglers trying to cross into a country illegally. Fighter planes intercept enemy bombers before they reach their targets.

In everyday life, you might intercept your little brother before he tracks mud through the house, or intercept a friend in the hallway to ask a quick question. The key idea is catching or stopping something mid-journey, before it completes its path. When you make an interception, you've successfully stopped something that was on its way somewhere else.

Notice that intercepting usually requires quick thinking and good timing. You have to figure out where something is going and position yourself to catch it. That split-second decision to intercept a pass in basketball, or intercept a note being passed in class, can completely change what happens next.