interview
Americannoun
-
interviews
plural
-
a formal meeting in which one or more persons question, consult, or evaluate another person.
a job interview.
-
a meeting or conversation in which a writer or reporter asks questions of one or more persons from whom material is sought for a newspaper story, television broadcast, etc.
-
the report of such a conversation or meeting.
verb (used with object)
-
interviews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interviewed,
past participle, past
-
interviewing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
interviews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
interviewed,
past participle, past
-
interviewing
present participle
-
to have an interview; be interviewed (sometimes followed bywith ).
She interviewed with eight companies before accepting a job.
-
to give or conduct an interview.
to interview to fill job openings.
noun
-
a conversation with or questioning of a person, usually conducted for television, radio, or a newspaper
-
a formal discussion, esp one in which an employer assesses an applicant for a job
verb
-
to conduct an interview with (someone)
-
(intr) to be interviewed, esp for a job
he interviewed well and was given the position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
intervieweenoun
-
interviewernoun
-
preinterviewnoun
-
reinterviewnoun
-
self-interviewnoun
-
interviewableadjective
-
quasi-interviewedadjective
-
uninterviewedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
interviewsimple
-
interviewssimple
-
have interviewedperfect
-
has interviewedperfect
-
am interviewingprogressive
-
are interviewingprogressive
-
is interviewingprogressive
-
have been interviewingperfect progressive
-
has been interviewingperfect progressive
Past
-
interviewedsimple
-
had interviewedperfect
-
was interviewingprogressive
-
were interviewingprogressive
-
had been interviewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of interview
First recorded in 1505–15; inter- + view; replacing enterview, from Middle French entrevue, noun use of feminine of entrevu “glimpsed,” past participle of entrevoir “to glimpse,” from entre “between” + voir “to see”
Explanation
Interview can be a verb or a noun, but whatever form it takes, it involves a formal meeting and asking or answering questions. When you go to a job interview, be prepared to answer questions about your strengths and weaknesses. The noun form of interview refers to a question-and-answer session. You’ve probably seen a TV interview with a famous person, or you may have gone to an interview with a college admissions director. The verb form of the word describes the act of asking the questions. You might interview a local politician for your school paper. Often an interview involves some kind of evaluation, so speak carefully if someone is interviewing you, especially if it's going to be published!
Vocabulary lists containing interview
TEKS ELAR Academic Vocabulary List (5th-7th grades)
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Common Senses: Vid, Vis ("See")
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Journalism
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
“The bad guys are going to keep taking advantage of new technology,” he said in an interview.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
In a phone interview while driving through Los Angeles, Hilton said: “Whether I’m in Humboldt or Del Norte or Siskiyou County, my joke is, when people say, ‘Where do you live?’
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Gethings was then told he was one of 16 UK students being invited for an interview at the embassy.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
"The front that we'll probably see most dramatically in the next year is cyberattacks," Gates said in an interview with ABC News.
From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026
We start the interview, and the more we talk, the easier it gets.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
During the pandemic, the vast majority of interviews moved from in-person to over the phone or online, which critics say makes it harder for the government to tell which cases are real.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Avatar Musk, meant to appear like AI slop and spouting commentary culled from the totality of his recorded interviews, is pretty gimmicky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
Reluctant at first to talk to Mr. Harris, the “fiercely private” Mr. David eventually agrees to numerous interviews.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Gibney sporadically complements his archival materials and many interviews with the metaphoric imagery of player-one gaming: toggling between identities, first-person shooter modes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
This was in the unstructured time before formal interviews, when she was standing facing the officers in the hallway, with Leon on one side of her and her mother on the other.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
Miri said he filed a habeas corpus petition on June 19, a legal action that challenges the lawfulness of a person’s detention, but declined to be interviewed on the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 11, 2026
A Washington industry lobbyist interviewed by AFP predicted a pragmatic approach from companies.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Most of those interviewed shared the critics’ judgment that “Altman has a relentless will to power that, even among industrialists who put their names on spaceships, sets him apart.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
The court heard Severinov was interviewed under caution by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, which has primacy in bringing any criminal proceedings in this case.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
For the segment, I would be interviewed by Ellen and then do a fencing demonstration with one of her producers.
From "Proud" by Ibtihaj Muhammad
According to local media reports, police had struggled to establish details of alleged abuse when interviewing residents, because most of them had severe disabilities and faced difficulties communicating.
From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026
Ms. Hannah-Jones was interviewing me for a New York Times series titled “Segregated City,” a video companion piece of sorts to her 2016 article “Choosing a School for My Daughter in a Segregated City.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Other times, I was interviewing believers and, more often, their bewildered loved ones.
From Slate ● Sep. 22, 2026
In the days before Tice vanished, the driver made one particularly brazen move while Tice was interviewing rebel fighters.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
When we got to the foyer, an NBC-TV reporter was interviewing Sheriff Strider about the trial.
From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe
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.
