intern

¹ American  

[in-turn] / ˈɪn tɜrn /

Sometimes interne

noun

1. a resident member of the medical staff of a hospital, usually a recent medical school graduate serving under supervision.

2. Education. student teacher.

3. a person who works as an apprentice or trainee in an occupation or profession to gain practical experience, and sometimes also to satisfy legal or other requirements for being licensed or accepted professionally.

---

verb (used without object)

interned, interning

1. to be or perform the duties of an intern.

intern ² American  

[in-turn, in-turn] / ɪnˈtɜrn, ˈɪn tɜrn /

verb (used with object)

1. to restrict to or confine within prescribed limits, as prisoners of war, enemy aliens, or combat troops who take refuge in a neutral country.

2. to impound or hold within a country until the termination of a war, as a ship of a belligerent that has put into a neutral port and remained beyond a limited period.

---

noun

1. a person who is or has been interned; internee.

intern ³ American  

[in-turn] / ɪnˈtɜrn /

adjective

Archaic.

1. internal.

---

intern British  

verb

1. (tr) to detain or confine (foreign or enemy citizens, ships, etc), esp during wartime

2. (intr) to serve or train as an intern

---

noun

1. another word for internee

2. Also: interne.  British equivalent: house officer.  med a graduate in the first year of practical training after medical school, resident in a hospital and under supervision by senior doctors

3. a student teacher

4. a student or recent graduate receiving practical training in a working environment

adjective

1. an archaic word for internal

Etymology

Origin of intern¹

First recorded in 1825–30 intern ¹ for def. 1, and in 1920–25 intern ¹ for defs. 2, 3; from French interne “assistant doctor,” from Latin internus “inward”; intern ³

Origin of intern²

First recorded in 1865–70; from French interner “to send inland; confine,” verbal derivative of interne intern ³

Origin of intern³

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin internus “inward,” equivalent to inter- inter- + -nus adjective suffix

Example Sentences

We met all the interns and Zach said, “So, guys, Chalke’s going to come in every day and something’s going to be broken. Every day there’s going to be a story.”

From Los Angeles Times

His advice: Be very specific: “Just imagine you have the smartest intern you ever had working for you, but they are very naive.”

From MarketWatch

Previously, he was a national reporting intern at the Washington Post covering education, youth culture & policy.

From The Wall Street Journal

She first joined the Journal as an intern in London, covering European business and society.

From The Wall Street Journal

He is hired as an intern by a phony physician whose reputation is founded on knowledge of “a certain professional slang, humored by a medical face.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• doctor
• resident
• student
• trainee