interval
/ˈɪntəv(ə)l
/noun
1An intervening time: after his departure, there was an interval of many years without any meetings the day should be dry with sunny intervals...
- The sunny weather somehow morphed into gales, bright sunny intervals, a thunderstorm that would not have been out of place in the tropics and light showers.
- It was a very showery day yesterday, with a number of heavy downpours between sunny intervals.
- Be committed to eating smaller meals at regular intervals.
Synonyms
interim, interlude, intervening time, intervening period, meantime, meanwhile;
interregnum
1.1A component of activity in interval training: they ran, sprinted, and jogged for four 15-minute intervals at two different times...
- You can do intervals by alternating power walking with easy jogging.
- Warm up for five minutes, then do sprint intervals.
- Here's one more extra piece of advice: Do high-intensity intervals instead of just regular low-intensity cardio.
2A pause or break in activity: an interval of mourning...
- Basically, interval training alternates short bursts of higher-intensity exercise with intervals of slower activity that allow the body a little break.
- Whether you choose to run, cycle, swim or use cardiovascular gym equipment, break up a 30 minute workout with intervals of hard activity so that you push yourself just beyond your comfort zone.
- However, if the pause intervals are too long, physiological systems will not be stressed enough to induce a training effect.
Synonyms
intermission, interlude, entr'acte, break, recess, pause, gap;
lull, respite;
half-time
2.1British A period of time separating parts of a theatrical or musical performance.Performances were divided into five acts separated by intervals during which music was played....
- And after the interval comes some of the fiercest theatrical drumming I've heard since Ariane Mnouchkine's production of The Oresteia.
- The string quartet will play during the reception and there will be a licensed bar during the interval and throughout the performance.
2.2A break between the parts of a sports match: United led 3-0 at the interval...
- They were unfortunate not to have held the lead at the interval, after matching the lively home side in most aspects of play.
- Play was on the halfway line when the interval came, with France leading by two goal points.
- But if that goal seconds before the interval left the game poised on a knife edge it was nothing compared to what followed in the opening 13 minutes of the second period.
3A space between two things; a gap.There was nothing in the four feet wide gap but windowless knobbed doors spaced at even intervals; none of them had a label in which to portray the doors' purposes....
- A well-trodden path wends its way around the water - apart from a spot where a small natural wood hugs the shoreline - and sturdy platforms are spaced at regular intervals.
- Six hundred giant pylons, spaced at 300 metre intervals, are needed simply to carry the weight of the massive 400,000 volt power lines.
Synonyms
stretch, distance, span, area;
space, gap, interspace
4The difference in pitch between two sounds.In tonal music the intervals between the successive pitches are not literally replicated but become the equivalents within the diatonic scale....
- The composer here plays with the sounds of particular intervals as much as complete melodies.
- I think there is a psychological aspect to it: that the musician remains effected by the very sound of the intervals.
Phrases
at intervals
Derivatives
intervallic
/ adjective ...- In America this intervallic source is contained in the opening flute line which, as we have already seen, is reiterated by the mezzo-soprano at the climax of the first part of the first movement.
- I may start a piece inspired by some kind of intervallic symmetry or mathematical relationship (axial symmetry of a particular set, for example) but later, as the writing progresses faster, intuition takes place completely.
- Since twentieth-century music often is less melodic in a traditional sense, pianists are required to perform large leaps, execute quick changes in direction and negotiate unusual intervallic groupings and clusters.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French entrevalle, based on Latin intervallum 'space between ramparts, interval', from inter- 'between' + vallum 'rampart'.
The word interval is from Old French entrevalle, based on Latin intervallum ‘space between ramparts, interval’, from inter- ‘between’ and vallum ‘rampart’.