The intercept form of the equation of a line is x/a
+
y/b
=1.
in·ter·cept
(ĭn′tər-sĕpt′)tr.v. in·ter·cept·ed, in·ter·cept·ing, in·ter·cepts
1. To stop, deflect, or interrupt the progress or intended course of: intercepted me with a message as I was leaving.
2. Sports
a. To gain possession of (an opponent's pass), as in football or basketball.
b. To gain possession of a pass made by (an opponent), especially in football.
3. To slow or prevent (precipitation) from reaching the ground. Used of vegetation.
4. Mathematics
a. To intersect (a coordinate axis).
b. To include or bound (a part of a space or curve) between two points or lines.
5. Archaic To prevent.
6. Obsolete To cut off from access or communication.
n. (ĭn′tər-sĕpt′)
1. Mathematics The point or coordinates at which a line, curve, or surface intersects a coordinate axis.
2.
a. The interception of a missile by another missile or an aircraft by another aircraft.
b. Interception of a radio transmission.
3. An interceptor.
[Middle English intercepten, from Latin intercipere, intercept- : inter-, inter- + capere, to seize; see kap- in Indo-European roots.]
in′ter·cep′tive adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.