Noun

(en noun)

A hindrance; that which impedes or hinders progress.

* Shakespeare

Thus far into the bowels of the land / Have we marched on without impediment .

* {{quote-book

, year=1818 , author=Mary Shelley , title=Frankenstein , chapter=2 citation , passage=I had gazed upon the fortifications and impediments that seemed to keep human beings from entering the citadel of nature, and rashly and ignorantly I had repined.}}

Working in a noisy factory left him with a slight hearing impediment .

(chiefly, in the plural) Baggage, especially that of an army; impedimenta

Noun

(en noun)

The act of interrupting, or the state of being interrupted.

*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4 , passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption , for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-21, author=(Oliver Burkeman)

, volume=189, issue=2, page=27, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= The tao of tech , passage=The dirty secret of the internet is that all this distraction and interruption is immensely profitable. Web companies like to boast about "creating compelling content", or offering services that let you "stay up to date with what your friends are doing"

A time interval during which there is a cessation of something.