interim

American  

[in-ter-uhm] / ˈɪn tər əm /

noun

1. an intervening time; interval; meantime.

   School doesn't start till September, but he's taking a Spanish class in the interim.

2. a temporary or provisional arrangement; stopgap; makeshift.

   As an interim, her summer job was pretty good.

3. Church History. Interim, any of three provisional arrangements for the settlement of religious differences between German Protestants and Roman Catholics during the Reformation.

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adjective

1. for, during, belonging to, or connected with an intervening period of time; temporary; provisional.

   This is just an interim arrangement till office renovations are finished.

   She is the organization’s interim director while the board reviews applications for the role.

adverb

1. meanwhile.

interim ¹ British  

/ ˈɪntərɪm /

adjective

1. (prenominal) temporary, provisional, or intervening

   interim measures to deal with the emergency

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noun

1. the intervening time; the meantime (esp in the phrase in the interim )

adverb

1. rare meantime

Interim ² British  

/ ˈɪntərɪm /

noun

1. any of three provisional arrangements made during the Reformation by the German emperor and Diet to regulate religious differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants

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interim Idioms  

1. see in the interim.

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Etymology

Origin of interim

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin: “in the meantime,” from inter “between” + -im, adverb suffix

Explanation

An interim is a period of time between one event and another. If a teacher leaves mid-year, there might be an interim teacher, one who takes over the class until a permanent replacement is hired. Interim is a Latin adverb meaning "in the meantime." The first part, inter means "between." Interim is the time between, and you can use it as a fancy way of referring to a time you squeeze something in. Maybe you get ice cream during the interim between school and piano lessons. This word is often used in official contexts — for example, after the CEO of a company steps down, an interim CEO might serve while a formal job search is conducted.

Example Sentences

The broadcaster needs to make £500m savings over the next two years, and interim director general Rhodri Talfan Davies did not rule out axing entire channels or services.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

In the interim, more than a billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Lucid named Silvio Napoli as its next chief executive, succeeding interim CEO Marc Winterhoff, who held the role since February 2025.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

Across the entire interim system funded by the city, 51% of exits in January were to unknown and uninhabitable locations, down from 56% two months earlier, according to the latest data available.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

Nemur: “I’m not afraid of regression any more. I’ve checked and rechecked everything. An interim report will do no harm. I feel sure nothing can go wrong now.”

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

Related Words

• provisional