interim

[in-ter-uhm]

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.

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

/ ˈɪntərɪm /

adjective

1. (prenominal) temporary, provisional, or intervening

   interim measures to deal with the emergency

noun

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

adverb

1. rare,  meantime

Interim

²

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of interim¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of interim¹

C16: from Latin: meanwhile

Idioms and Phrases

see in the interim.

Example Sentences

The hourlong discussion, which was broadcast online via Zoom and viewed by The Times, opened with comments from interim President Beong-Soo Kim, who did not offer his opinion of the compact.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The interim government, led by Nobel laureate Prof Muhammad Yunus, has banned the Awami League from political activity until the trial of its leaders is over.

Read more on BBC

"We see exclusion and denial of the rights of the Syrian people, such as elections. Therefore, the Syrian interim government does not represent the will of the Syrian people," she told Reuters news agency.

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Renee Slegers had guided them safely through a tricky period as interim manager and was rewarded with the full-time role, delivering the biggest trophy months later.

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He added: "Compensation awards and interim payments began being issued to eligible survivors at the end of April 2025 and the scheme will remain open until 31 March 2026."

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• provisional