interstitial

adjective

in·​ter·​sti·​tial ˌin-tər-ˈsti-shəl 

1

: occurring in or being an interval or intervening space or segment : of, relating to, or forming an interstice

an interstitial space

… the site has been running interstitial ads, which consist of a full page of advertising between editorial pages, for a little more than a year.

—Carl Sullivan

2

a

: situated within but not restricted to or characteristic of a particular organ or tissue

—used especially of fibrous tissue

b

: affecting the interstitial tissues of an organ or part

interstitial cystitis

3

: being or relating to a crystalline compound in which usually small atoms or ions of a nonmetal occupy holes between the larger metal atoms or ions in the crystal lattice

interstitially

ˌin-tər-ˈsti-shə-lē 

adverb

Examples of interstitial in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Symptoms of interstitial cystitis include pelvic and bladder pain and feeling the need to urinate frequently.62 Research shows dimethyl sulfoxide can improve irritation of the bladder wall, which helps with pain and how much fluid the bladder can comfortably hold. —Kirstyn Hill, Pharmd, Mph, Health, 22 Sep. 2024

So emphatic are the images that the interstitial dialogue cards are hardly necessary. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 7 Sep. 2024

Its casual exposition dumps and jarring time shifts would be nearly unmanageable without the helpful interstitial cards peppered throughout the movie, but the prismatic imagery in the scenes between those cards makes up for it. —Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 1 Apr. 2024

Elsewhere, Teddy Swims and Jessie Murph provided interstitial performances of their respective hits on the way to commercials. —Steven J. Horowitz, Variety, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

interstitial

adjective

in·​ter·​sti·​tial ˌint-ər-ˈstish-əl 

: relating to or located in the interstices

interstitially

-ˈstish-ə-lē 

adverb

Medical Definition

interstitial

adjective

in·​ter·​sti·​tial ˌint-ər-ˈstish-əl 

1

: situated within but not restricted to or characteristic of a particular organ or tissue

—used especially of fibrous tissue

2

: affecting the interstitial tissues of an organ or part

interstitial hepatitis

3

: occurring in the part of a fallopian tube in the wall of the uterus

interstitial pregnancy

interstitially

-ə-lē 

adverb