intermediate

adjective

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in·ter·me·di·ate | \ ˌin-tər-ˈmē-dē-ət

Definition of intermediate

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : being or occurring at the middle place, stage, or degree or between extremes

2 : of or relating to an intermediate school an intermediate curriculum

intermediate

noun

Definition of intermediate (Entry 2 of 3)

1 : one that is intermediate

2 : mediator, go-between

3a : a chemical compound synthesized from simpler compounds and usually intended to be used in later syntheses of more complex products

b : a usually short-lived chemical species formed in a reaction as an intermediate step between the starting material and the final product

4 : an automobile larger than a compact but smaller than a full-sized automobile

intermediate

verb

in·ter·me·di·ate | \ ˌin-tər-ˈmē-dē-ˌāt

intermediated; intermediating; intermediates

Definition of intermediate (Entry 3 of 3)

intransitive verb

1 : intervene, interpose

2 : to act as an intermediate

Other Words from intermediate Synonyms More Example Sentences Phrases Containing intermediate Learn More About intermediate

Examples of intermediate in a Sentence

Adjective an intermediate stage of growth I'm taking intermediate French this year. Noun she often used her father as an intermediate in arguments with her mother Verb if the secretary-general chooses to intermediate in this dispute, he'll need all of his diplomatic skills just to get both sides in the same room

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective Perhaps most alarming to the Soviets was NATO’s deployment of new intermediate-range ballistic and cruise missiles that could strike the U.S.S.R.—and Moscow itself—faster than previously possible. — Francine Uenuma, Smithsonian Magazine, 27 Apr. 2022 Precise ball location in short and intermediate pass game, especially between the numbers. — Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2022 In a 20-19 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, Duvernay ran short, intermediate and deep routes. — Jonas Shaffer, baltimoresun.com, 26 Jan. 2022 The redshirt sophomore quarterback struggled with his accuracy, overthrowing open receivers on deep routes and firing wide on short and intermediate passes. — Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press, 31 Dec. 2021 Bachmeier picked at the Aztecs with short and intermediate passes that moved the Broncos up and down the field. — San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Nov. 2021 Woods called an excellent game, mixing up zone and man coverage while letting his safeties patrol both intermediate and deep passes. — Ellis L. Williams, cleveland, 3 Oct. 2021 And again, Sunday’s opponent, Denver’s Teddy Bridgewater, tends to utilize a short and intermediate passing game. — J.p. Pelzman, Forbes, 26 Sep. 2021 According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Burrow was one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL in the short and intermediate game. — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 7 Sep. 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun The digital intermediate has also been finished at 4K, so picture quality will be high on larger screens, and the IMAX DMR process will be employed took presumably to upscale any footage that might not be shot on the ARRI Alexa LF. — Benny Har-even, Forbes, 6 Dec. 2021 The film was shot digitally with Phantom Flex4K and Sony CineAlta digital cameras with a mixture of 4K and even 8K, but slightly disappointingly, the digital intermediate was only struck at 2K. — Benny Har-even, Forbes, 29 June 2021 Conveniently, caffeic acid is an intermediate on the pathway that plants use to make lignin, a key component of plant cell walls and a major contributor to the robustness of wood. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, 30 Apr. 2020 Can easily throw downfield, but also chips away with shorter and intermediate throws. — oregonlive, 12 Dec. 2019 The price of Brent crude surged 18 percent before falling back to a 12 percent increase; the U.S. benchmark West Texas intermediate climbed 12 percent before easing to a 10 percent gain. — Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2019 The book is divided into three sections—beginner, intermediate, and advanced/all-level dives. — Anna Mazurek, al, 8 May 2020 At an elevation of 6000 feet in Colorado Springs, gasoline comes in three flavors: 85 octane (regular), 87 octane (intermediate), and 91 octane (premium). — Car and Driver, 18 Apr. 2020 Accurate on short-to-intermediate throws; inconsistent beyond 10 yards Dalton tends to be very accurate on short-to-intermediate passes but struggles with ball placement farther downfield. — John Owning, Dallas News, 6 May 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Entry to intermediate skiing brings a handful of physical and psychological challenges. — Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 22 Feb. 2022 Each of your muscles (e.g., calves, quads, and hamstrings) is composed of three types of muscle fibers: slow-twitch, intermediate fast-twitch, and fast-twitch. — Outside Online, 25 July 2019 This mountain located in coastal Maine is small but mighty with 15 trails that service mainly intermediate skiers and snowboarders, including the one-mile-long Spinnaker, which starts as a blue and turns into a green. — Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 1 Dec. 2021 The Ravens stuffed screens and shadowed every short to intermediate route across the middle. — Mike Preston, baltimoresun.com, 18 Oct. 2021 After two weeks of not throwing, Prescott made just light to intermediate throws since, but over the last few days, his workload increased. — Michael Gehlken, Dallas News, 26 Aug. 2021 Google provides several ad tech services that intermediate between advertisers and publishers in order to display ads on websites or mobile apps. — Mark Thompson, CNN, 22 June 2021 Some proposals call for banks to intermediate these accounts, and others want individual customers to have direct access to their Fed accounts. — Norbert Michel, Forbes, 18 June 2021 Kritsky: For many years, it was believed that the long prime number life-cycle was an ideal way to stop predators and parasites intermediate stages to evolve synchrony with the cicadas. — Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 26 May 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intermediate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for intermediate

Adjective

Middle English, from Medieval Latin intermediatus, from Latin intermedius, from inter- + medius mid, middle — more at mid

Verb

Medieval Latin intermediatus, past participle of intermediare, from Latin inter- + Late Latin mediare to mediate

Learn More About intermediate

Dictionary Entries Near intermediate

intermediary host

intermediate

intermediate carrier

Statistics for intermediate

Last Updated

14 May 2022

Cite this Entry

“Intermediate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intermediate. Accessed 17 May. 2022.

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More Definitions for intermediate

intermediate

adjective

in·ter·me·di·ate | \ ˌin-tər-ˈmē-dē-ət

Kids Definition of intermediate

(Entry 1 of 2)

: being or occurring in the middle of a series or between extremes The car was of intermediate size.

intermediate

noun

Kids Definition of intermediate (Entry 2 of 2)

: someone or something that is in the middle of a series or between extremes Instruction is offered for beginners and intermediates.

intermediate

adjective

in·ter·me·di·ate | \ ˌint-ər-ˈmēd-ē-ət

Medical Definition of intermediate

(Entry 1 of 2)

: being or occurring at the middle place, stage, or degree or between extremes the remaining subjects progressed to some intermediate stage of disease— R. R. Redfield et al.

intermediate

noun

Medical Definition of intermediate (Entry 2 of 2)

: one that is intermediate especially : a chemical compound synthesized from simpler compounds and usually intended to be used in later syntheses of more complex products pharmaceutical intermediates

intermediate

adjective

in·ter·me·di·ate | \ ˌin-tər-ˈmē-dē-ət

Legal Definition of intermediate

1 : being or occurring at the middle place, stage, or degree or between extremes an intermediate order

2 : of, relating to, or being a level of judicial scrutiny to ensure equal protection of the laws that is applied to a statute involving classification of persons and that is more intensive than the rational basis test and not as severe as strict scrutiny intermediate review intermediate scrutiny