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.

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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.

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noun

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

intern ³ American  

[in-turn] / ɪnˈtɜrn /

adjective

Archaic.

1. internal.

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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

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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

Explanation

Somewhere between being a student and a professional is the life of an intern, an advanced student, especially in medicine, who gets on-the-job experience. To intern or be an intern is to leave the classroom behind and start doing part of your profession — usually, the job of being a doctor. Sometimes an intern is paid, but not always, and the pay is never great. The experience is considered payment in itself. There have been many medical TV shows that feature interns, probably because the hours are long, the job is difficult, and there are many opportunities for drama in this boot camp for doctors. Medical interns may appreciate another meaning, which means to take away someone's freedom, as in "Why did you intern the prisoners?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intern interned interning

Jillian Vordick is a former graphics intern and part of the summer 2026 newsroom intern class at The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

You wanted to intern for them, but ended up creating your own thing and now Soulection is a blueprint for others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026

And why have Southampton given a permanent role to the intern who was caught spying on Middlesbrough in May?

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026

He later returned to conservative political circles, including a stint as an intern in then-Rep.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

"It's a big step forward," the intern said.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

She previously interned at Vox Media and McKinsey & Company.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026

Parra, who is 24, interned in Collins’ congressional office in 2024 and worked as a contractor for a Collins-affiliated political action committee until last year.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

Mitchell’s familiarity with lobbying might also come from experience, with Mitchell having interned at a lobbying firm, according to both Radio Iowa and his biography at Future Caucus, a group that supports young politicians.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

After graduating from San Diego State, she interned in the sports department at CBS affiliate KFMB-TV although she didn’t know much about sports.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

The third, called relocation, was just opening up: interned citizens who could find a job and a sponsor somewhere inland, away from the west coast, were beginning to trickle out of camp.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Epstein also placed Molchanova in internships arranged by his friends, including a stretch she describes interning for the publicist Peggy Siegal in 2016.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

Qi came to America to get his Ph.D. in computer science at Stanford University, and worked with Yang on research projects while interning together at Meta Platforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

After taking up comedy classes and street performances on the East Coast, Zucker quickly transitioned to working in theater and eventually moved to L.A. at 18 to pursue comedy, interning at Upright Citizens Brigade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026

Brennan Drolet, a rising college senior studying finance, is spending this summer interning at a bank in Massachusetts.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

“When I was in graduate school, interning at the museum. I was there on a scholarship for Fair students.”

From "A Tangle of Knots" by Lisa Graff

Related Words

• doctor
• resident
• student
• trainee