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

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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

Natalie Weger is a former Dow Jones News Fund intern and part of the summer 2025 newsroom intern class at The Wall Street Journal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026

The law student told me Mamdani had never gone far enough to earn his vote, but protesters with him that day included an ex-Mamdani intern.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2026

A graduate of Pepperdine University's law school, Zacharia began her career in Republican politics, working as an intern for the Republican National Committee in 2006, CNN reported.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

Once he had his foot in the door as an intern, success became an obsession, with bonuses becoming "a way of gauging how wonderfully successful a human being I was".

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

I could be on the Kids Bake Challenge! and intern at a real, professional bakery.

From "From the Desk of Zoe Washington" by Janae Marks

He also interned with National Public Radio on the audience team.

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

Prior to that, he interned at Bloomberg News on the equities and European technology desks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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

Even though they were interned, the Japanese created a community in the camp, so Mas was able to bring everything Jeanne had written to life.

From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers

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

Drolet, who is interning for the CFO’s office of a nonprofit in Dublin, Ireland, is currently more interested in growing his investment portfolio than becoming a homeowner.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 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

Concannon is interning this semester at the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office and is set to graduate this spring.

From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026

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

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

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Related Words

• doctor
• resident
• student
• trainee

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