# intern

Pronunciation: say "IN-turn" US /ˈɪntɝn/, UK /ˈɪntɜːn/

## Noun

1. A student or recent graduate who works in a field in order to gain practical experience in their chosen profession.
   - Simple: A student or new graduate who works at a job to learn skills in a field they want to enter.
   - _The intern compiled research summaries for the marketing team every afternoon._
   - _Several interns competed for the one full-time position at the end of the program._
3. In medicine, a student or recent graduate who works in a hospital to complete the last stage of training.
   - Simple: A new doctor who works in a hospital as the last stage of their medical training.
   - _The intern presented the patient's chart to the attending physician during morning rounds._
   - _First-year interns rotate through several departments before choosing a specialty._
5. A person who is held in confinement, either by force or voluntarily.
   - Simple: Someone who is held in a camp or prison, by force or by choice.
   - _The camp's interns organized lessons and concerts to pass the time._
   - _An intern who cooperated with the guards was given lighter duties._

## Verb

2. To work as a trainee in a field, usually with little or no pay or the legal benefits of employment, for the purpose of furthering one's education.
   - Simple: To work at a job, often unpaid, in order to gain experience and training in a field.
   - _Many students intern at hospitals to gain hands-on experience before graduating._
   - _She interned at a law firm for six months without pay._
4. To hold someone in confinement, usually without a trial. (pronounced: say "in-TURN" US /ɪnˈtɝn/, UK /ɪnˈtɜːn/)
   - Simple: To put someone in prison, usually without a trial.
   - _The authorities interned thousands of citizens deemed a security risk._
   - _During the conflict, officials moved to intern anyone suspected of disloyalty._
6. To confine foreign military personnel who enter the state's territory, holding them within prescribed limits during wartime. (pronounced: say "in-TURN" US /ɪnˈtɝn/, UK /ɪnˈtɜːn/)
   - Simple: To hold foreign soldiers who enter the country during a war, keeping them within set limits.
   - _Switzerland interned aircrews that strayed across its border during the war._
   - _A neutral state may intern enemy troops who enter its territory until the fighting ends._
7. To internalize a value, especially by storing one shared copy that all identical instances point to. (pronounced: say "in-TURN" US /ɪnˈtɝn/, UK /ɪnˈtɜːn/)
   - Simple: To keep a single shared copy of a value so the same thing is not stored many times.
   - _The runtime interns string literals automatically when the program loads._
   - _Developers can intern frequently used keys to speed up comparisons._

## Adjective

Pronunciation: say "in-TURN" US /ɪnˈtɝn/, UK /ɪnˈtɜːn/

8. Relating to or located on the inside; internal. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: Found or happening on the inside of something.
   - _The physician noted some intern bleeding that required attention._
   - _Philosophers of the age wrote of the intern workings of the soul._

## Origin

**Meanings 4–8** — From French interner, from interne ("inner, internal"), which comes from Latin internus ("within, internal").
**Meanings 1–3** — From French interne ("inner, internal"), from Latin internus ("within, internal"), which comes from inter ("between").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/intern (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).