internship
Americannoun
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the state or condition of being an intern.
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the period during which a person serves as an intern.
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any official or formal program to provide practical experience for beginners in an occupation or profession.
an internship for management trainees.
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a position as a participant in such a program.
She has accepted an internship in a law firm.
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any period of time during which a beginner acquires experience in an occupation, profession, or pursuit.
She had a long internship before starting her own recording studio.
noun
Etymology
Origin of internship
Explanation
An internship is a temporary position with an emphasis on on-the-job training rather than merely employment, and it can be paid or unpaid. If you want to go into publishing, you might have to take an internship before you are qualified for an actual job. To intern means "to pass inside something," and when you have an internship, it's like you've temporarily gotten permission to be inside a workplace. If you're just completing your medical training, then the next stage is to get a medical internship, in which you are supervised by more experienced doctors. Sometimes your internship is part of your "residency," your first hospital job.
Vocabulary lists containing internship
Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Unit 3: Compelling Evidence
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One Knicks fan, DJ Coffui, who moved to the city for an internship just two weeks ago from New Jersey said: "The buzz is unbelievable - just need to seal the deal tonight."
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2026
When I was 17, I started an internship at the now-revered magazine Sassy, where I hoped, also secretly, that I might glean some wardrobe intel from the staff of cool twentysomething women.
From Salon • Jun. 12, 2026
Handshake data indicate that internship listings have softened while applications per posting have nearly doubled since 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
When I first graduated, I moved back in with my parents and sulked around because I was unemployed and without an internship lined up.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 2, 2026
And now she wants to turn her tech internship into a Last Friend job.
From "They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
