INTERVAL

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does interval mean? 

• INTERVAL (noun)
  The noun INTERVAL has 4 senses:

1. a definite length of time marked off by two instants

2. a set containing all points (or all real numbers) between two given endpoints

3. the distance between things

4. the difference in pitch between two notes

  Familiarity information: INTERVAL used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• INTERVAL (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A definite length of time marked off by two instants

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

interval; time interval

Hypernyms ("interval" is a kind of...):

amount; measure; quantity (how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interval"):

processing time (the time it takes to complete a prescribed procedure)

latency; rotational latency ((computer science) the time it takes for a specific block of data on a data track to rotate around to the read/write head)

float (the time interval between the deposit of a check in a bank and its payment)

period (the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon)

lead time (the time interval between the initiation and the completion of a production process)

cycle; rhythm; round (an interval during which a recurring sequence of events occurs)

eternity (a seemingly endless time interval (waiting))

latency; latent period; reaction time; response time (the time that elapses between a stimulus and the response to it)

latent period (the time that elapses before the presence of a disease is manifested by symptoms)

interim; lag; meantime; meanwhile (the time between one event, process, or period and another)

interlude (an intervening period or episode)

break; intermission; interruption; pause; suspension (a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something)

absence (the time interval during which something or somebody is away)

lunitidal interval (interval between the moon's transit of a particular meridian and the next high tide at that meridian)

slot; time slot (a time assigned on a schedule or agenda)

time constant ((electronics) the time required for the current or voltage in a circuit to rise or fall exponentially through approximately 63 per cent of its amplitude)

seek time ((computer science) the time it takes for a read/write head to move to a specific data track)

embolism; intercalation (an insertion into a calendar)

distance; space (the interval between two times)

access time ((computer science) the interval between the time data is requested by the system and the time the data is provided by the drive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A set containing all points (or all real numbers) between two given endpoints

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("interval" is a kind of...):

set ((mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interval"):

bounded interval; closed interval (an interval that includes its endpoints)

open interval; unbounded interval (an interval that does not include its endpoints)

sub-interval (an interval that is included in another interval)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The distance between things

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Synonyms:

interval; separation

Context example:

fragile items require separation and cushioning

Hypernyms ("interval" is a kind of...):

distance (the property created by the space between two objects or points)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interval"):

clearance (the distance by which one thing clears another; the space between them)

Sense 4

Meaning:

The difference in pitch between two notes

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

interval; musical interval

Hypernyms ("interval" is a kind of...):

musical notation ((music) notation used by musicians)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "interval"):

sixth (the musical interval between one note and another six notes away from it)

seventh (the musical interval between one note and another seven notes away from it)

fifth (the musical interval between one note and another five notes away from it)

fourth (the musical interval between one note and another four notes away from it)

third (the musical interval between one note and another three notes away from it)

musical octave; octave (a musical interval of eight tones)

quarter-tone; quarter tone (half of a semitone)

half step; semitone (the musical interval between adjacent keys on a keyboard instrument)

step; tone; whole step; whole tone (a musical interval of two semitones)

 Context examples 

At two o’clock we will come again, and report to you anything which may have happened in the interval.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

But in the interval the rogue had learned to imitate you, and his position was therefore secure, as I presume that nobody in the office had ever set eyes upon you.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Among these he rummaged and read, with intervals of note-taking and of meditation, until we were past Reading.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

His mind had begun to wander again, and to be perplexed by hallucinations, while his lucid intervals grew rarer and shorter.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

Themselves, they had covered twelve hundred miles with two days’ rest, and in the nature of reason and common justice they deserved an interval of loafing.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

Possibly it was the fraction of a second, but I had no knowledge of how long an interval had lapsed before I was myself again.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

In the research, mice that had never had cancer were treated with SA-4-1BBL alone, then challenged with cervical and lung cancer tumor cells at various time intervals.

(Immune Stimulant Molecule Protects against Cancer Development, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Issue associated with a pacing transmission process such that between any two significant instants in the same group, there is always an integral number of unit intervals.

(Asynchronous Pacing Medical Device Problem, Food and Drug Administration)

The area under the curve (AUC) over the interval from T1 to T2.

(Area Under the Curve from T1 to T2, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

AUC is usually given for the time interval zero to infinity, and other time intervals are indicated.

(Area Under Curve, NCI Thesaurus)