interview
Americannoun
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a formal meeting in which one or more persons question, consult, or evaluate another person.
a job interview.
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a meeting or conversation in which a writer or reporter asks questions of one or more persons from whom material is sought for a newspaper story, television broadcast, etc.
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the report of such a conversation or meeting.
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to have an interview; be interviewed (sometimes followed bywith ).
She interviewed with eight companies before accepting a job.
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to give or conduct an interview.
to interview to fill job openings.
noun
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a conversation with or questioning of a person, usually conducted for television, radio, or a newspaper
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a formal discussion, esp one in which an employer assesses an applicant for a job
verb
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to conduct an interview with (someone)
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(intr) to be interviewed, esp for a job
he interviewed well and was given the position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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intervieweenoun
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interviewernoun
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preinterviewnoun
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reinterviewnoun
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self-interviewnoun
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interviewableadjective
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quasi-interviewedadjective
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uninterviewedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interviewsimple
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interviewssimple
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have interviewedperfect
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has interviewedperfect
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am interviewingprogressive
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are interviewingprogressive
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is interviewingprogressive
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have been interviewingperfect progressive
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has been interviewingperfect progressive
Past
-
interviewedsimple
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had interviewedperfect
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was interviewingprogressive
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were interviewingprogressive
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had been interviewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interview
First recorded in 1505–15; inter- + view; replacing enterview, from Middle French entrevue, noun use of feminine of entrevu “glimpsed,” past participle of entrevoir “to glimpse,” from entre “between” + voir “to see”
Explanation
Interview can be a verb or a noun, but whatever form it takes, it involves a formal meeting and asking or answering questions. When you go to a job interview, be prepared to answer questions about your strengths and weaknesses. The noun form of interview refers to a question-and-answer session. You’ve probably seen a TV interview with a famous person, or you may have gone to an interview with a college admissions director. The verb form of the word describes the act of asking the questions. You might interview a local politician for your school paper. Often an interview involves some kind of evaluation, so speak carefully if someone is interviewing you, especially if it's going to be published!
Vocabulary lists containing interview
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
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Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
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Journalism
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“The worst problem for an artist is having nothing to say,” she once said in an interview.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
In his first police interview, Bush said he had developed a cash-flow problem because "people did not always pay," and he had debts of about £90,000.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The episode draws on Amicus’ interview with Cherneff, a lawyer and visiting assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Brunswick declined to offer sales figures, but CEO David Foulkes said in an interview that “increasing power beyond where other people can go” has helped the company boost its leading share of the engine market.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
Between only one job interview this summer and his childhood friend’s funeral, I was afraid I’d never see him laugh again.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Recorded in front of a live audience for NVTV, the 45-minute show featured music and interviews with guests from the world of music, entertainment and showbiz including Boyzone's Keith Duffy, Louis Walsh and Brian Kennedy.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
If Darline Graham hopes to avoid similar missteps, lukewarm Fox interviews may be the right approach after all.
From Slate ● Jul. 24, 2026
This article is based on interviews with current and former Taco Bell officials and people familiar with its operations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
Online users can log onto the webpage and browse through dozens of family portraits or a few oral interviews on the site, including that of the Gamboa family, which lived in the Bishop neighborhood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
I heard some of the stories the prisoners told during those interviews.
From "Before We Were Free" by Julia Alvarez
"He interviewed so many, many hundreds of people across decades including his famous clip with a young Rory McIlroy and the wash machine!"
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026
This week, however, she visited Ukraine, interviewed Zelensky, and changed her tune on the conflict.
From Slate ● Jul. 25, 2026
In 2001, Cenovia Gamboa Madero — lead singer and soloist in Santo Niño Church in Chavez Ravine — was interviewed by Jordan Mechner for the 2023 PBS documentary film, “Chavez Ravine: A Los Angeles Story.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Several diplomats interviewed by AFP were cautious about the outcome of the race, saying a number of capitals had yet to make their choice.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
After Vincent died, and became Vincent van Gogh, writers interviewed the neighbors from Zundert.
From "Vincent and Theo: The Van Gogh Brothers" by Deborah Heiligman
Mr. Friedman sought the answer by interviewing more than 6,000 professionals who say their teams are tops to find out what they do differently from the rest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It was also researching and interviewing lots of different people.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
State health agencies take the lead in interviewing patients, and those agencies are disparately funded.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
But if you are interviewing for a job as a hedge-fund manager, that likely won’t be the case.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
Leila showed up over the next few days when the film crew was interviewing people.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
