You’re probably here because you’re tired of things that don't just stay on. Maybe your internet is acting up. Maybe you’re looking at a new diet. Or maybe you're just wondering why your car's turn signal has that specific rhythm. Honestly, the meaning of intermittent is pretty simple on the surface, but it gets weirdly complicated once you start applying it to real life.
It’s not constant. It’s not permanent. It’s "on-again, off-again."
Think of a leaky faucet. It doesn't pour. It doesn't stop. It just drips at intervals. That is the essence of being intermittent. But when we talk about the meaning of intermittent in 2026, we’re usually talking about one of three things: biology, technology, or mechanics. It’s a word that bridges the gap between a frustrating tech glitch and a scientifically backed health protocol.
The Core Definition: What Does Intermittent Actually Mean?
At its most basic, dictionary level, intermittent describes something occurring at irregular intervals. It’s not continuous. If you’re a fan of Latin roots, it comes from intermittere, which basically means "to let go between."
Imagine a dotted line.
The line exists, then there’s a gap, then the line exists again. That gap is the "intermission." If a fever is intermittent, it spikes and then vanishes, giving you a few hours of relief before the chills come back to ruin your night. If rain is intermittent, you might not even need an umbrella—you just need to time your run to the car.
But there’s a catch. People often confuse "intermittent" with "periodic." They aren't the same. Periodic things happen on a set, predictable schedule—like the ticking of a clock or the phases of the moon. Intermittent things are often more chaotic. They don't always give you a heads-up.
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When Your Body Goes Intermittent: Health and Biology
This is where most people encounter the term these days. You’ve heard of Intermittent Fasting (IF). It’s basically the poster child for the meaning of intermittent in a lifestyle context.
Instead of eating from the moment you wake up until the moment you pass out watching Netflix, you create "intermittent" windows. You eat. You stop. You eat again. According to Dr. Mark Mattson, a neuroscientist at Johns Hopkins University who spent 25 years studying this stuff, our bodies actually evolved to function this way. Our ancestors didn't have refrigerators. Their food intake was—you guessed it—intermittent.
When you stop eating for a set period, your body does something called "metabolic switching." It runs out of sugar (glucose) and starts burning fat (ketones). It’s not a diet in the traditional sense. It’s a timing strategy.
But biology uses this word elsewhere too.
- Intermittent Claudication: This is a fancy medical term for leg pain that happens when you walk but stops when you rest. It’s a circulation issue.
- Intermittent Explosive Disorder: This is a behavioral condition involving sudden, repeated episodes of impulsive, aggressive, or violent behavior.
- Intermittent Heartbeat: Also known as palpitations or arrhythmias. It’s that fluttering feeling in your chest that makes you think, "Is this it?" (Usually, it’s just too much caffeine, but you get the point).
The common thread? The "off" period. The pause is just as important as the action.
The Technology Headache: Why "Intermittent" is a Tech Support Nightmare
If you tell a technician you have an "intermittent fault," watch their face. They will look like they want to cry.
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Why? Because intermittent problems are the hardest to fix. If your phone is dead, it’s dead. You can trace the power. But if your phone occasionally restarts only when you’re at 40% battery and holding it at a 30-degree angle? That’s an intermittent glitch.
In the world of renewable energy, this word is a massive hurdle. Solar power is intermittent. The sun sets. Clouds roll in. Wind power is intermittent. The air goes still. This is why we need massive battery storage systems like the Tesla Megapack. We have to take an intermittent energy source and somehow smooth it out so your toaster works at 3:00 AM.
It's the inconsistency that defines the meaning of intermittent here. It’s a lack of reliability. In tech, "intermittent" is usually a polite way of saying "unreliable and annoying."
The Psychology of Intermittent Reinforcement: Why You Can’t Put Down Your Phone
This is the dark side of the word. B.F. Skinner, the famous psychologist, discovered something called "intermittent reinforcement."
He put pigeons in a box. If the pigeon hit a lever and got a treat every time, it would eventually get bored and stop. But if the pigeon got a treat only sometimes—at random, intermittent intervals—it would hit that lever like a maniac.
This is exactly how slot machines work. It’s how social media notifications work. You don’t get a "win" every time you refresh your feed. You get one intermittently. That unpredictability creates a dopamine loop that is incredibly hard to break. Honestly, our brains are hardwired to obsess over things that aren't constant. We crave the "on" cycle because we’re stuck in the "off" cycle.
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Mechanics and Engineering: The Intermittent Wiper
Ever notice that your car has a setting for the windshield wipers between "off" and "slow"? That’s the intermittent setting.
In the 1960s, a guy named Robert Kearns invented the intermittent windshield wiper. Before him, wipers just went back and forth constantly, which was super annoying in light rain because they’d squeak across a dry windshield. Kearns realized that wipers should work like human eyelids—blinking only when necessary.
The meaning of intermittent in engineering is often about efficiency. Why run a motor 100% of the time if you only need the output 10% of the time? It saves energy. It reduces wear and tear. It’s smart design.
How to Handle Intermittent Problems in Real Life
Since you now know that "intermittent" means "randomly annoying or strategically interrupted," how do you deal with it?
If you're dealing with an intermittent tech issue, document everything. Don't just tell the repair guy "it breaks sometimes." Tell them it breaks on Tuesdays when the microwave is on. You need to find the pattern in the "off" periods.
If you're trying an intermittent lifestyle change—like fasting or interval training—the key is the schedule. Even though the action is intermittent, your commitment to the pattern needs to be constant.
Actionable Steps for Navigating Intermittency:
- For Health: If you're looking at intermittent fasting, start with a 12:12 window. That’s 12 hours of eating and 12 hours of fasting (most of which you’re asleep for). It’s the easiest way to see if your body digs the "off" cycle.
- For Productivity: Try the Pomodoro Technique. It’s intermittent work. 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes of scrolling. It prevents burnout because you aren't trying to maintain a "constant" state of high-level brain activity.
- For Tech: Use a log. If your internet cuts out, write down the time. You’ll usually find that "intermittent" actually has a secret pattern, like your neighbor's old ham radio interfering with your signal.
- For Relationships: Watch out for intermittent reinforcement. If someone is only nice to you 20% of the time, that’s not a "quirk"—it’s a psychological trap. Consistency is usually healthier than intermittency in human connections.
Intermittent isn't a bad thing. It's just a rhythm. Whether it’s the blinker on your car or the way you eat your lunch, understanding the meaning of intermittent is really just about understanding that life doesn't have to be "on" all the time to be effective. Sometimes, the magic is in the pause.
Summary of Intermittent Applications
- Meteorology: Short bursts of rain or sun.
- Electricity: Power surges or temporary drops in voltage.
- Medical: Symptoms that come and go, like a recurring rash.
- Exercise: High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is basically intermittent sprinting.
- History: Intermittent warfare, where battles happen sporadically over decades.
Ultimately, navigating the world means getting comfortable with things that don't stay the same. Nothing is truly constant. Everything, if you look closely enough, is at least a little bit intermittent.