Inter- Arresting

inter-between

Quick Summary

Prefixes are key morphemes in English vocabulary that begin words. The prefix inter- means “between.” This prefix appears in numerous English vocabulary words, such as Internet, interesting, and interview. An easy way to remember that the prefix inter- means “between” is through the word international, for international competitions occur “between” nations.

Today we will focus on the prefix inter- which means “between.” Prefixes are morphemes which begin words, attaching to a word’s main part, or root, adding to the meaning of the word in some way.

The Internet is a linked system of networks that communicate “between” each other, connecting computers on a global scale. The computers and networks are interconnected, or linked “between” themselves. All this occurs on an international scale, or “between” nations—it is possible for anyone anywhere to access the World Wide Web.

People who work in large office buildings often have to send interoffice mail, or that correspondence that goes “between” different offices. Mail also travels in mail trucks along the interstates, or those highways that run “between” states. One finds many intersections along these highways, or those roads that cut “between” the interstates and head off in other directions.

College football offers interscholastic competition, or those contests “between” different schools. Speaking of football, when a cornerback intercepts a pass, he seizes the ball “between” the quarterback and his intended receiver, getting the ball back for his team. Halftime at a football game is simply an intermission, or that time of rest which is sent “between” the end of one half and the start of another. The halftime interrupts the flow of the game, or bursts “between” it.

Now that you have become interested in the prefix inter-, “between,” you can confidently interact with any word that comes your way with inter- in it!

  1. Internet: networks that exist ‘between’ each other
  2. interconnected: linked ‘between’
  3. international: ‘between’ nations
  4. interoffice: ‘between’ offices
  5. interstate: ‘between’ states
  6. intersection: a cutting ‘between’
  7. interscholastic: ‘between’ schools
  8. intercept: seize ‘between’
  9. intermission: time sent ‘between’
  10. interrupt: burst ‘between’
  11. interested: be ‘between’
  12. interact: act ‘between’

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