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• interim
  interim

  noun

  an intervening time; interval; meantime.
• Interim
  Interim

  noun

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

interim

American  

[in-ter-uhm] / ˈɪn tər əm /

noun

• interims
  plural

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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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• interims
  plural

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

See Examples For:

interim Interim interims

“All I can confirm is that there is an investigation,” El Camino Real’s interim executive director, Emilie Larew, wrote in an email.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

With interim CEO Darren Yip handing charge to permanent successor Anthony Attia on Sept. 1, they think there are residual risks around costs and capital expenditure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Chelsea's Premier League record in 2025-26 is almost identical to when they finished mid-table under interim manager Guus Hiddink a decade ago.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

During the interim transition period, Dresser will work closely with the business team to support customers, the company said Thursday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

In the interim, despite my lack of college, my reading skills had allowed me to get better jobs.

From "Bad Boy" by Walter Dean Myers

In Trump Media’s first-ever earnings call on Monday, Interim Chief Executive Kevin McGurn said the early sign-ups comprised primarily high-frequency trading firms paying between $60,000 and $100,000 a month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

Interim charges are lists of issues that the lieutenant governor and speaker give to their respective chamber’s committees to study during the period between legislative sessions.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

“Markets already move on Truth Social posts,” said Kevin McGurn, Interim Chief Executive Officer of TMTG, in the firm’s July 16 announcement of the service.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

Interim President Delcy Rodriguez has defended the government reaction, saying thousands of public officials and rescue teams were dispatched.

From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026

The Interim Committee met with its scientific panel for the first time on May 31 at the Pentagon, with Groves and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall in attendance.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

In the Abramovich era, which stretched from July 2003 to May 2022, Chelsea won 18 major honours and two Community Shields, contesting 30 finals under 15 managers, including caretakers and interims.

From BBC ● Apr. 26, 2026

The team announced it will name interims to fill both positions for the final three games of the season “within short order.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 15, 2023

All along, the three talked and fist-bumped amiably among themselves and made the interims between arrows look like some relaxed endeavor in someone’s gaudy backyard.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 25, 2021

After firing Gruden, Snyder will look to hire his seventh head coach, or ninth if you include interims.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 7, 2019

But there were moments when he was comparatively sane, and in these interims he confessed everything.

From Animal Ghosts Or, Animal Hauntings and the Hereafter by Elliott O'Donnell

Related Words

• provisional