intersperse
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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to scatter or distribute among, between, or on
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to diversify (something) with other things scattered here and there
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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interspersesimple
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interspersessimple
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have interspersedperfect
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has interspersedperfect
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am interspersingprogressive
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are interspersingprogressive
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is interspersingprogressive
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have been interspersingperfect progressive
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has been interspersingperfect progressive
Past
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interspersedsimple
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had interspersedperfect
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was interspersingprogressive
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were interspersingprogressive
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had been interspersingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intersperse
1560–70; < Latin interspersus (past participle of interspergere to strew here and there), equivalent to inter- inter- + -spersus, combining form of sparsus, past participle of spargere to scatter; see disperse
Explanation
When you intersperse something, you scatter it with spaces in between, the way you intersperse vegetable seeds along a row in a garden bed. A wallpaper pattern might intersperse polka dots with bright flowers, and a writer might intersperse colorful details throughout an essay on the sword fishing industry. If you place things here and there, at intervals or leaving room between each item, you intersperse them. The Latin root is interspersus, "strewn or scattered," and in the mid-1500s the word intersperse was used mostly to mean "diversify by introducing things at intervals."
Vocabulary lists containing intersperse
"The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury
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The Hunger Games
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This Week in Pop Culture: April 6–12, 2019
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While Hartman believes it’s best to intersperse the music between races, it’s not the only way to do things.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2024
You can intersperse more prolonged bouts with quick bursts, whether downsizing clothing or a tool drawer.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 21, 2023
In the fall of 2023, the museum will intersperse about a dozen of Hendricks’s portraits among its own holdings in an exhibition at its temporary home, Frick Madison.
From New York Times • Jul. 13, 2022
The same holds true for Peloton’s bootcamp classes, which intersperse floor exercises with cycling / running.
From The Verge • Jan. 31, 2022
She was more or less delirious, but still retained a half-lucidity which enabled her to intersperse a few intelligible and reasonable remarks among the incoherent phrases which revealed her superstitious Breton soul.
From The Secret of Sarek by Leblanc, Maurice
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
