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• inter
  inter

  verb (used with object)

  to place (a dead body) in a grave or tomb; bury.
• inter-
  inter-

  a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “between,” “among,” “in the midst of,” “mutually,” “reciprocally,” “together,” “during” (intercept; interest ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (intercom; interdepartmental ).
• inter.
  inter.

  abbreviation

  intermediate.
• inter–
  inter–

  A prefix meaning “between” or “among,” as in interplanetary, located between planets.

inter

¹ American  

[in-tur] / ɪnˈtɜr /

verb (used with object)

• inters,
  present (3rd person singular)
• interred,
  past participle,  past
• interring
  present participle

1. to place (a dead body) in a grave or tomb; bury.

2. to place (a cremation urn) in an aboveground niche or in a grave or tomb.

   Her ashes were interred at the crematorium.

3. to put into the earth.

4. to forget or remove from consideration; abandon.

   Your dreams may be interred by social expectations and the demands of maturity.

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inter- ² American  

1. a prefix occurring in loanwords from Latin, where it meant “between,” “among,” “in the midst of,” “mutually,” “reciprocally,” “together,” “during” (intercept; interest ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (intercom; interdepartmental ).

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inter. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. intermediate.

2. interrogation.

3. interrogative.

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inter. ¹ British  

abbreviation

1. intermediate

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inter ² British  

/ ɪnˈtɜː /

verb

1. (tr) to place (a body) in the earth; bury, esp with funeral rites

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inter- ³ British  

prefix

1. between or among

   international

2. together, mutually, or reciprocally

   interdependent

   interchange

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inter– Scientific  

1. A prefix meaning “between” or “among,” as in interplanetary, located between planets.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• reinter
  verb (used with object)

Inflected Forms

Participles

• interring
  present
• interred
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• inter
  simple
• inters
  simple
• have interred
  perfect
• has interred
  perfect
• am interring
  progressive
• are interring
  progressive
• is interring
  progressive
• have been interring
  perfect progressive
• has been interring
  perfect progressive

Past

• interred
  simple
• had interred
  perfect
• was interring
  progressive
• were interring
  progressive
• had been interring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will inter
  simple
• will have interred
  perfect
• will be interring
  progressive
• will have been interring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of inter¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English enteren, from Middle French enterrer, probably from unattested Vulgar Latin interrāre, derivative of terra “earth”; see in- ²

Origin of inter-²

Middle English < Latin (in some words replacing Middle English entre- < Middle French < Latin inter- ), combining form of inter (preposition and adv.); see interior

Compare meaning

How does inter compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• inter vs. intrapersonal

Explanation

Inter means to bury, usually in a tomb or grave. If you loved your cat a lot, you might want to inter her remains in the back yard and make a nice little memorial. Most of the time, the word inter is going to be about burying someone or something. Often times, a family owns a plot of land in a cemetery where all family members are interred when they die. Occasionally, you might see it in the phrase "inter alia," a literary Latin expression meaning "among other things." Your professor is probably a poet and a scholar, inter alia.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

inter inter- inters interred interring

“Historically Pakistan always wanted to be seen as primus inter pares”—first among equals—“in the Muslim world,” says Farzana Shaikh, an expert on Pakistan at the British think tank Chatham House, in a phone interview.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The wet may provide more grip when it's very wet, but the extra flexibility of the inter will always win out if the conditions are variable, as they were at Silverstone.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2025

The museum has an ethical obligation to “exhaust all means” of finding people’s names and families before deciding to inter them, she says.

From Science Magazine ● Jan. 23, 2024

On Monday afternoon, half a dozen gravediggers took a break in the shade, waiting for the latest coffin to inter at the cemetery, called Lychakiv.

From New York Times ● Jun. 19, 2023

“I know what yeh’re like abou’ Snape, Harry, an’ I don’ want yeh ter go readin’ more inter this than there is.”

From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling

These early inter- and intraregional exchanges were made possible by pack animals like mules, horses, and donkeys, but trade was limited because these animals were biologically ill-suited for the extremes of the Saharan environment.

From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022

This finding echoes existing research suggesting reciprocal processes between stigma at inter- and intra-personal levels and policies.

From Salon ● Nov. 14, 2022

Or is it even about the work — is her success just an excuse for inter- and intra-generational squabbling?

From New York Times ● May 15, 2020

Jordan Hicks has had an inter- ception in two consecutive games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2016

I felt as if I had been beamed from earth onto an inter- galactic space station.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

"But in that moment, why Max didn't stop for inters as well? He kept one lap longer than me but with a different tyre."

From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2023

Red Bull had taken the cue from Pierre Gasly's Alpha Tauri, who pitted for inters shortly after the start, but was for several laps stuck behind slower cars.

From BBC ● May 29, 2022

According to its website, South-View Cemetery was founded after the end of the Civil War by former slaves and inters the bodies of more than 80,000 African Americans.

From Fox News ● Jul. 30, 2020

If no relative claimed her remains, Dawn was told, Nakesha would most likely be buried on Hart Island, where the city inters unclaimed bodies in mass graves.

From New York Times ● Mar. 3, 2018

Above its mere amusing story the tale breathes an elegy on the many good things that are slain by age before death comes and decently inters the body.

From Henry James by Rebecca West

Evidence suggests the site was prepared with care, and the victims were interred with personal belongings such as bronze jewellery and ceramic drinking vessels.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 9, 2026

After a memorial service in France and a Cuban state funeral, his ashes were interred in Havana.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026

Valentino will be cremated, with his ashes interred at Rome's Flaminio Cemetery.

From BBC ● Jan. 23, 2026

The next morning, we detour north to the Ossuaire de Douaumont, where the remains of 130,000 unknown French and German soldiers who died in the Battle of Verdun are interred inside a giant stone memorial.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025

King Hamlet's body was interred beneath the floor of Elsinore's chapel, near his father's bones and those of his father's father.

From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein

The little boy was buried by his parents, who believed he would be reincarnated if they followed a ritual while interring the body.

From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2024

“There was way too much death for the system to handle,” recalls Amy Koplow, the executive director of the Hebrew Free Burial Association, which is interring some Jewish people who were at the temporary morgue.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 5, 2021

There are enormous practical difficulties, often involving by-laws on the burial of human remains, when it comes to interring so many bodies.

From The Guardian ● Jul. 4, 2020

The videos emerged as the coronavirus outbreak ravaged New York, and after they circulated, officials confirmed what viewers suspected: The city had begun interring unclaimed bodies of Covid-19 victims in the potter’s field.

From New York Times ● Apr. 29, 2020

We wouldn’t be interring him in the Atlantic, but a pauper’s grave was just as permanent.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros