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

There were no roster spots left, but Chesney agreed to let him be involved with the program as an intern.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

“As far I know, Mike Rockwell was given full freedom to pretty much make whatever project he wanted,” Elizabeth Dorman, a former application-prototyping intern on the early visionOS team, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026

Phillips was additionally probed by the House Ethics Committee for allegedly hiring a girlfriend to intern in Collins’ office.

From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026

“I wanted to ask you to mentor me, you know, I’d work as an intern, do whatever, clean up, anything, because I have to make this sculpture.”

From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson

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

He grew up in the Bay Area and, after an early career stint reporting on the videogame industry, interned at his hometown paper, Palo Alto Weekly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 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

As a teenager, he interned for Comcast, spending high school and college summers climbing telephone poles and selling cable subscriptions door to door.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

Once I quit drinking and started making decent money at the little accounting firm I’d interned with, we bought the house on Overlook Road.

From "Please Ignore Vera Dietz" by A.S. King

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

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

He got his start interning at a local radio station, and in 2006 he became second mic to Wendy Williams in New Jersey, where he honed his hard-nosed interview style.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026

Born in England and raised in Las Vegas, she will visit Los Angeles for the first time when she begins interning on the business desk today.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

Aside from his accomplishments on the football field, Mendoza spent his summers interning at commercial real estate and investing firms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 25, 2026

“She thought you’d be interested in interning there yourself,” Dr. Achebe continued.

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• doctor
• resident
• student
• trainee