interlude
Americannoun
-
an intervening episode, period, space, etc.
- Synonyms:
- pause, intermission, respite, interval
-
a short dramatic piece, especially of a light or farcical character, formerly introduced between the parts or acts of miracle and morality plays or given as part of other entertainments.
-
one of the early English farces or comedies, as those written by John Heywood, which grew out of such pieces.
-
any intermediate performance or entertainment, as between the acts of a play.
-
an instrumental passage or a piece of music rendered between the parts of a song, church service, drama, etc.
noun
-
a period of time or different activity between longer periods, processes, or events; episode or interval
-
theatre a short dramatic piece played separately or as part of a longer entertainment, common in 16th-century England
-
a brief piece of music, dance, etc, given between the sections of another performance
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of interlude
1275–1325; Middle English < Medieval Latin interlūdium, equivalent to Latin inter- inter- + lūd ( us ) play + -ium -ium
Explanation
An interlude is a brief period of time that comes in the middle of something. You might enjoy a relaxing lemonade interlude in the middle of a tough day at your road-paving job. Any block of time that comes as a break or a respite from an activity can be called an interlude, so you could talk about a quiet interlude after a noisy birthday party, or an interlude of peace after years of war. Interlude is often used to describe the pauses between acts of a play or during an intermission. In fact, the original meaning came from the Latin interludium, which means "between a play".
Vocabulary lists containing interlude
Power Prefix: inter-
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
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Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It has stayed below 5% for a decade, if a brief interlude during the pandemic is omitted.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
Composed of three songs and one interlude, “Samuelito” takes its name from the childhood moniker some know him by today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
Another important interlude is the segue of “American Skin” into “Long Walk Home.”
From Salon ● May 28, 2026
The first group in the rogues’ gallery are the British children of World War II. Lennon was born in the interlude between air raids.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
While the rest of the family tossed and dozed, I secretly made my way to the San Marcos River bank and enjoyed a daily interlude of no school, no pestiferous brothers, and no Mother.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
His ongoing dispute with a folding bicycle and a long-running complaint about the behavior of the upstairs neighbors are, though they make for some very funny interludes, symptomatic of entrenched unhappiness.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
The night felt mostly like a celebration of his musical journey, with video interludes during the performance referencing his gratitude towards those who had followed his career since he started in 2016.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
In a post to Truth Social, the president called the performance that included interludes by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin “absolutely terrible.”
From Salon ● Feb. 8, 2026
“You need to say everything you have never said before to them that you’ve always wanted to say,” she says of the exercise they conducted for the interludes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
“It was one of the nicest interludes we have ever, ever had.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.