Intern

/ɪnˈtɜrn/

Meaning & Definition

noun

A person who works for a particular company or organization, often without pay, to gain work experience.

The company has a summer internship program for college students who want to learn about business operations.

A student or recent graduate undergoing supervised practical training in a profession.

She is currently an intern at a local hospital, gaining valuable experience in the medical field.

verb

To work as an intern.

I will intern at a law firm this summer to understand more about legal practices.

Latin 'internus' meaning 'inward, internal'

internship

A period during which a trainee works to gain experience.

intern on the job

To work in a practical capacity at one's internship.

apprenticeship

A system of training a new generation of practitioners in a trade or profession.

fellow

A person who has been granted a fellowship, often involved in research.

co-op

A cooperative education program that combines classroom learning with practical work experience.

a hopeful future employee

He's just a lowly intern now, but he hopes to be hired full-time soon.

someone doing grunt work for little or no pay

I feel like a glorified coffee intern around here.