intermediate

Pluralintermediates

Formsintermediates, intermediating, intermediated

1. 1
   adjective

   Somewhere between two extremes in position, level, or degree.

   His skills are at an intermediate stage, beyond beginner but not yet expert.

   The hike has an intermediate difficulty rating suited to fairly fit walkers.

   Similarmiddle, midway, halfway, medium, moderate

   Note

   The root of the whole family is a borrowing of Medieval Latin intermediātus, a participle built on intermedius. The nouns are this adjective put to work as a noun, and the verbs come from the same Latin form. In railway writing it has a settled home: intermediate stations and intermediate stops are the places a line serves between its two ends, as Railway Magazine used them in 1952 and 1960.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   Something that occupies a position between two others.

   The prototype serves as an intermediate between the early sketch and the final design.

   In the company hierarchy, that role functions as an intermediate linking managers and staff.

   Similarbridge, link, midpoint, intermediary

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A person or thing that acts as a go-between connecting two parties.

   A trusted intermediate carried offers back and forth between the rival camps.

   The agency works as an intermediate connecting authors with publishers.

   Similarintermediary, go-between, mediator, middleman, broker

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A car larger than a compact but smaller than a full-sized model.

   She chose an intermediate because it held more luggage than a compact.

   Rental companies stock intermediates for travelers who want extra space.

   Similarmid-size

5. 5
   nouncountable

   Any substance that arises partway through a sequence of chemical reactions, as distinct from the final product.

   The enzyme stabilizes a reactive intermediate during the catalytic cycle.

   Several intermediates appear before the synthesis yields its target molecule.

   Note

   In chemistry the word marks a waypoint rather than a destination. An intermediate is a species formed at one step of a multi-step reaction and consumed at a later one, so it is not isolated as a product. Reactive intermediate is the common pairing. A compound made and shipped for sale belongs instead to the industrial trade sense.

6. 6
   verbintransitive

   To mediate, or serve as a go-between.

   The diplomat was asked to intermediate in the border dispute.

   Community elders often intermediate when conflicts arise.

   Similarmediate, intercede, intervene, arbitrate

   Note

   Without an object, the verb puts someone in the middle of a disagreement. A diplomat intermediates in a dispute, and elders intermediate when conflicts arise, usually with in or between. It sits very close to mediate. Add a direct object and the meaning shifts to the broker's sense, where what is arranged is the deal itself rather than peace between parties.

7. 7
   verbtransitive

   To arrange something in the manner of a broker.

   The firm intermediates transactions between buyers and sellers.

   Banks intermediate large loans for their corporate clients.

   Similarbroker, arrange, negotiate, facilitate

   Note

   Finance is where the transitive verb is most at home. Regulators speak of entities that intermediate monetary transactions, and banks are said to intermediate loans for their clients. The object is always the business being arranged, never the people on either side. That makes the construction natural in writing about banking and markets.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   A lightly grooved tire suited to conditions that are damp rather than completely dry or thoroughly wet.

   As the drizzle eased, the driver switched to an intermediate.

   Several cars pitted for intermediates during the changing weather.

   Note

   Motor racing shortened a phrase to make this noun. Intermediate tires, the choice when light rain is coming, become simply intermediates in race reports and pit-lane talk. In grooving and in purpose they sit between the slick dry-weather tire and the deeply treaded wet one, so a team picks them while the track is changing.

9. 9
   nouncountable

   A chemical substance produced and sold to commercial customers as an input to other chemical processes.

   The company specializes in producing an intermediate for the dye industry.

   Pharmaceutical firms buy intermediates to synthesize their active ingredients.

   Note

   Here chemistry turns into commerce. In the reaction-step meaning, the substance is a passing stage, but in this sense it is manufactured on purpose and sold to other firms as feedstock. Dye makers and drug companies are among the buyers. Because the customer is always another producer and never a shopper, this sense belongs to industry and supply-chain talk rather than the laboratory bench.

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