Intern: Definition, Usage & Sentence Examples

Meaning 1：confine officially (intern)

intern 🔊

/ɪnˈtɜːrn/

vt.

To officially confine or restrict someone, usually during a war or political crisis, often in a camp or specific place.

Intern meaning illustrated: people confined in a fenced area under guard, showing official detention.

confine officially 🔊

➕

/kənˈfaɪn əˈfɪʃəli/

vt.

To detain or confine someone, typically a foreign national or prisoner, in a designated place by official order, especially during wartime.

📁 Category：Laws & Regulations 🔖 Level：Advanced

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Latin 'internus' (internal). To confine someone 'within'.

💡 Mnemonic

Think INTERNal restriction. To INTERN is to keep someone INside a specific area against their will.

📖 Example

During the war, the government decided to intern enemy aliens in secured camps for national security. 🔊 During the war, the government decided to officially confine enemy aliens in secured camps for national security.

🔗 Collocations

intern enemy aliens – to officially detain citizens of a hostile nation

intern prisoners of war – to confine captured enemy soldiers

intern in camps – to detain in specific, often isolated, facilities

🔄 Synonyms

detain (vt.) – to keep someone in official custody, typically for questioning or for a short period

confine (vt.) – to keep or restrict someone within certain limits or a place

imprison (vt.) – to put or keep someone in prison as a punishment

🚫 Antonyms

release (vt.) – to set free from confinement or restraint

liberate (vt.) – to set someone free from a situation of imprisonment or oppression

🌱 Derivatives

internee (n.) – a person who is interned

internment (n.) – the state of being interned; a camp or place for internment

📖 Cultural Story

Originates from Latin 'internus' (inward, internal). The verb gained prominence in the 20th century to describe the detention of enemy aliens or civilians during the World Wars.