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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

He’s an interim, and his contract expires this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

The choices he’s made in the interim period have not offered any course correction.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

Trump and interim Venezuelan President Delcy Rodríguez agreed to the outlines of the deal on a phone call days before the announcement, according to people familiar with the talks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026

The quarterly results reflected lower commodity-based pricing in portions of the business and a consumer environment that remains under pressure, interim Chief Executive Jeff Ettinger said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

The army general was serving as interim president until the UN could organize elections.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

Interim Chief Executive Officer Kevin McGurn said the company is making meaningful progress toward a proposed merger with the nuclear-fusion company TAE Technologies, which he described as the most important driver of long-term shareholder value.

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

And no more Trojan interims like Clay Helton.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2021

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

By recounting a few of these, and letting our imaginations fill in the interims, we can accompany Rose on her journey to the goal of her desires.

From 'Smiles' A Rose of the Cumberlands by H. Weston Taylor

Related Words

• provisional