internment

American

[in-turn-muhnt] / ɪnˈtɜrn mənt /

noun

an act or instance of interning, or confining a person or ship to prescribed limits during wartime.

the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II.
the state of being interned; confinement.

Etymology

Origin of internment

First recorded in 1865–70; intern ² + -ment

Compare meaning

How does internment compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

interment vs. internment

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.

Before their internment, most of them came from poverty or jail before being enticed, or tricked, into fighting for Russia as mercenaries or on the promise of release from prison.

From The Wall Street Journal

The demonstration was a protest against the policy of internment – imprisoning people without trial – which had been put in place following three years of violence.

From BBC

"And the Everglades internment camp even more so," he said.

From BBC

By 1940, new policies ordered all German nationals - Jewish or not - into internment camps.

From BBC

I’m not sure I knew internment had happened, or understood its scale, before I reached adulthood.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023