Definition of "intern"

intern¹

/ɪnˈtɝn/

noun
plural interns
1. A person who is interned, forcibly or voluntarily.
verb
third-person singular simple present interns, present participle interning, simple past and past participle interned
1. (transitive) To imprison somebody, usually without trial.
  Quotations
  That description was of a camp at the Tanforan Racetrack near San Francisco, one of several centers in California where Japanese and Japanese-American residents (Issei and Nisei) were held before being interned in areas remote from the West Coast.
  1989 October 15, Vivien Raynor, “Interned Artists, Devoid of Grievance”, in The New York Times‎
  1. (of a state, especially a neutral state) To confine or hold (foreign military personnel who stray into the state's territory) within prescribed limits during wartime.
2. (transitive, programming) To internalize.
  Quotations
  Strings are automatically interned if they are assigned to a literal string within code.
  2004, Mark Schmidt, Simon Robinson, Microsoft Visual C# .NET 2003 Developer's Cookbook, page 81
adjective
comparative more intern, superlative most intern
1. (archaic) Internal.
  Quotations
  Man was made after Gods image, which must be understood of the intern graces of the Soule
  1640, I. H. [i.e., James Howell], ΔΕΝΔΡΟΛΟΓΊΑ [DENDROLOGIA]. Dodona’s Grove, or, The Vocall Forrest, London: […] T[homas] B[adger] for H. Mosley [i.e., Humphrey Moseley] […]

intern²

/ˈɪntɝn/

noun
plural interns
1. A student or recent graduate who works in order to gain experience in their chosen field.
  Quotations
  Students know that working as an intern can provide contacts and all-important experience in their chosen fields. And last year, 26 percent of graduates hired by companies had worked as interns, compared with 9 percent the year before.
  1994 November 6, William Goss, “Interning For Pleasure And Profit”, in The New York Times‎
2. A medical student or recent graduate working in a hospital as a final part of medical training.
verb
third-person singular simple present interns, present participle interning, simple past and past participle interned
1. (intransitive) To work as an intern, usually with little or no pay or other legal prerogatives of employment, and for the purpose of furthering a program of education.