intern

adjective in·tern \ in-ˈtərn , ˈin-ˌtərn \

variants: or interne

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: intern in a Sentence

Definition of intern

archaic

: internal

Origin and Etymology of intern

Middle French interne, from Latin internus

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First Known Use: circa 1560

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

intern

verb in·tern \ ˈin-ˌtərn , in-ˈtərn \

Definition of intern

interned; interning; interns

transitive verb

: to confine or impound especially during a war

intern enemy aliens

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internee

play \(ˌ)in-ˌtər-ˈnē\ noun

—

internment

play \in-ˈtərn-mənt, ˈin-ˌtərn-\ noun

First Known Use of intern

1866

in the meaning defined above

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intern

noun in·tern \ ˈin-ˌtərn \

variants: or less commonly interne

Definition of intern

: an advanced student or graduate usually in a professional field (such as medicine or teaching) gaining supervised practical experience (as in a hospital or classroom)

—

internship

play \ˈin-ˌtərn-ˌship\ noun

See intern defined for English-language learners

Examples of intern in a Sentence

After medical school, he worked as an intern at the university hospital.

Recent Examples of intern from the Web

Barrio, who is originally from Lyme, was an intern at CCSU in 2003 at the beginning of his career in athletics.

— kelli stacy, courant.com, "Central Connecticut State University Names New Athletic Director," 12 July 2018
In graduate school, Coleman was an intern at the Woman’s National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C.

— kate talerico, The Courier-Journal, "So who is Andy Beshear's running mate, Jacqueline Coleman?," 8 July 2018
In this episode Tandy continues her investigation into the company by pretending to be an intern there.

— New York Times, "What’s on TV Thursday: ‘Secret City’ and ‘Blue Valentine’," 5 July 2018
Macron, who was an intern in Nigeria at age 23, used the colorful evening at the Lagos nightclub to launch the 2020 Season of African Cultures in France.

— sam olukoya, Fox News, "Macron parties at Fela Kuti's New Afrika Shrine in Nigeria," 4 July 2018
At the time, Monica was an intern at the White House, and was only 22 when the affair began.

— elly belle, Teen Vogue, "Bill Clinton Says He Has No Plans to Directly Apologize to Monica Lewinsky," 4 June 2018
Rora is an alumnus of Saint John’s Seminary, and has been deacon intern at St. John the Baptist Parish in Peabody and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Salem.

— elise takahama, BostonGlobe.com, "Cardinal Sean O’Malley to ordain 7 priests for Boston Archdiocese," 18 May 2018
Politico's website states that the author is an editorial intern.

— clare foran, CNN, "Monica Lewinsky calls out Marco Rubio for 'blaming the intern'," 3 May 2018
Bianca Arney is a dietetic intern at the University of Maryland Medical Center.

— bianca arney, baltimoresun.com, "Eating fish for your best health," 2 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of intern

French interne, from interne, adjective

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1879

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

intern

verb in·tern \ ˈin-ˌtərn \

Definition of intern

interned; interning; interns

intransitive verb

: to work as an intern

Recent Examples of intern from the Web

Eventually, more than 110,000 were interned – the greatest single violation of civil rights in U.S. history.

— rick hampson, USA TODAY, "Celebrating Independence Day in America's detention camps – during World War II and now," 2 July 2018
Cuadros, a Drexel University student majoring in nutrition, is interning with the Healthy Weight Program at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

— jose cuadros, Philly.com, "Healthy family recipe: Salmon en papillote," 29 June 2018
Caswell will be interned in Norfolk, VA in a private family service.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Deaths in South Florida: 6/27," 27 June 2018
The current situation, with its heartbreaking images of migrant families being separated on the southern border, and children interned in camps and kept in cages, might be that moment.

— gabriel sherman, The Hive, "“Stephen Actually Enjoys Seeing Those Pictures at the Border”: The West Wing Is Fracturing Over Trump’s Callous Migrant-Family Policy," 20 June 2018
Kenney played a starring role in TV ads promoting Democrat Rich Lazer — who had met Kenney as a Mummer, started interning for him as a college student, and eventually became his deputy mayor of labor — for Pennsylvania’s Fifth District.

— andrew seidman, Philly.com, "'He forgot where he came from': Is support for Mayor Kenney fading in his old South Philly neighborhood?," 23 May 2018
She has also interned in House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s office, and has been involved in other various political organizations.

— sarah gray, Time, "Former Disney Channel Star Caroline Sunshine Joins President Trump's White House Staff," 28 Mar. 2018
Obama interned on the set of HBO's Girls in 2015, and also worked as a production assistant on the set of Halle Berry's CBS show, Extant.

— sam dangremond, Town & Country, "What Malia Obama Is Doing During Her Gap Year," 25 Jan. 2017
Heil learned about the Human Exploration Research Analog at Houston's Johnson Space Center while interning at NASA in the spring.

— bruce henderson, charlotteobserver, "Concord native flew space mission to an asteroid. Without leaving Houston.," 3 July 2018

First Known Use of intern

circa 1928

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Other Education Terms

baccalaureate, colloquium, corequisite, dissertation, monograph, pedant, practicum, survey course, thesis

INTERN Defined for English Language Learners

intern

noun

Definition of intern for English Language Learners

: a student or recent graduate who works for a period of time at a job in order to get experience
: a person who works in a hospital in order to complete training as a doctor