interim

[in-ter-uhm]

noun

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.

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

/ ˈɪntərɪm /

adjective

1. (prenominal) temporary, provisional, or intervening

   interim measures to deal with the emergency

noun

1. the intervening time; the meantime (esp in the phrase in the interim )

adverb

1. rare,  meantime

Interim

²

/ 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of interim¹

First recorded in 1540–50; from Latin: “in the meantime,” from inter “between” + -im, adverb suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of interim¹

C16: from Latin: meanwhile

Idioms and Phrases

see in the interim.

Example Sentences

Amid the legal battle, Tesla’s board awarded Musk $29 billion in shares as an interim effort to persuade him to “stay focused.”

From Los Angeles Times

The board also said it would grant him $29bn worth of shares last month as a separate "interim" award, after a larger pay package agreed in 2018 was struck down in a court battle.

From BBC

Baroness Amos says she will aim to produce interim findings around Christmas.

From BBC

"I feel ashamed. If they were Nepalis who destroyed these essential structures, how can they be called Nepalis," the interim prime minister said on Sunday.

From BBC

She is widely regarded as having a clean image, and her leadership of the interim government is being supported by student leaders from the "Gen Z" movement.

From BBC

Related Words

• provisional