extern

American  

[ek-sturn, ik-sturn] / ˈɛk stɜrn, ɪkˈstɜrn /

noun

1. a person connected with an institution but not residing in it, as a doctor or medical student at a hospital.

2. a nun of a strictly enclosed order, as the Carmelites, who resides inside the convent but outside its enclosure and who chiefly goes on outside errands.

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adjective

1. Archaic. external; outer.

extern British  

/ ɪkˈstɜːn, ˈɛkstɜːn /

noun

1. a person, such as a physician at a hospital, who has an official connection with an institution but does not reside in it

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Etymology

Origin of extern

1525–35; < Latin externus, derivative of exter, exterus. See exterior

Example Sentences

Turner passed the bar in 1987, clerked as an extern for a U.S.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

While in law school, Peters served as an extern on the Washington Supreme Court.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2024

So, we drew some sketches of a customized wheelchair and I sent them to a friend who is a Lego enthusiast,’ said Garrett Fraess, veterinary extern at the Zoo.

From Fox News • Sep. 26, 2018

Along with an introduction that included a link to Bond’s post, the extern wrote to “request that the Committee give me a formal written opinion answering” a series of questions.

From Slate • Jan. 29, 2018

Then we believed the Beautiful to be wholly extern; something we had nothing to do with but to look at, and lo! it shone divinely there!

From Recreations of Christopher North, Volume I (of 2) by Wilson, John Lyde