intersperse
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
-
to scatter or distribute among, between, or on
-
to diversify (something) with other things scattered here and there
Other Word Forms
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
In each gallery, timelines intersperse events in the artist’s life with news of the larger world, then and now.
From New York Times • Apr. 28, 2022
The app takes bits from Anchor and bits from Clubhouse — users can host DJ sets, like they would a radio show, and intersperse songs with talk.
From The Verge • Oct. 26, 2021
When ready to make the drink, intersperse the watermelon ice cubes with regular ice and cucumber wheels.
From Washington Post • Aug. 20, 2021
David is going to accompany his father on the trip, having studied a little too hard at school, and it being the custom here to intersperse study with seasons of labor.
From Hurrah for New England! The Virginia Boy's Vacation by Tuthill, Louisa C.
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.
