inter-
/ɪntə(r)/
"inter" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“inter-” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a prefix. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 6
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
Corpus desk
Index EN-inter · inter- · English
inter- · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 6 letters
- VOW-2 2 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | inter- |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Prefix |
| IPA | /ɪntə(r)/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “inter-” in English
Rare enough to double-check
inter- is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aprefix, transcribed /ɪntə(r)/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 33 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for inter-, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: Etymology tree ▲ Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *ənter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Borrowed from Latin inter- (“between, amid”), a form of preposition… The correct English form is inter-, spelled I-N-T-E-R--.
Definition
- 1A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 2A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 3A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 4A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 5A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 6A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 7A position which is in between two (or more) of the kind indicated by the root.
- 8Mutually: the root verb or property has a symmetric and bidirectional relationship between the relevant parties.
- 9Combining together: the root verb is done together, generally uniting or merging multiple objects.
- 10Hybrid: combining two or more of the root together to produce a hybrid.
- 11Internally: the root verb is done in between or among relevant entities; also forming nouns and adjectives derived from the verb form.
- 12Internally: the root verb is done in between or among relevant entities; also forming nouns and adjectives derived from the verb form.
- 13Internally: the root verb is done in between or among relevant entities; also forming nouns and adjectives derived from the verb form.
- 14Internally: the root verb is done in between or among relevant entities; also forming nouns and adjectives derived from the verb form.
- 15Internally: the root verb is done in between or among relevant entities; also forming nouns and adjectives derived from the verb form.
- 16Alternating: a sequence of alternating kinds of the root.
- 17Link: to connect multiple kinds of the root.
- 18Link: to connect multiple kinds of the root.
- 19Link: to connect multiple kinds of the root.
- 20Link: to connect multiple kinds of the root.
- 21Involving multiple of the root.
- 22Involving multiple of the root.
- 23Involving multiple of the root.
- 24Involving multiple of the root.
- 25Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 26Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 27Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 28Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 29Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 30Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 31Intermediate between multiple of the type indicated by the root.
- 32Internet: relating to the internet or computer networking.
- 33Intersex: relating to intersex people.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how inter- appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
interexperiential
interangular
Etymology
Etymology tree ▲ Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁en- Proto-Indo-European *h₁én Proto-Indo-European *h₁entér Proto-Italic *ənter Latin inter Latin inter-bor. English inter- Borrowed from Latin inter- (“between, amid”), a form of prepositional inter (“between”).
Antonyms
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.