intersperse

verb

in·​ter·​sperse ˌin-tər-ˈspərs How to pronounce intersperse (audio)
interspersed; interspersing

transitive verb

1
: to insert at intervals among other things
interspersing drawings throughout the text
2
: to place something at intervals in or among
intersperse a book with pictures
interspersion noun

Did you know?

Intersperse comes from Latin interspersus, a combination of the prefix inter- ("between or among") and sparsus, the past participle of spargere, meaning "to scatter." Sparsus is also the source of sparse.

Examples of intersperse in a Sentence

You should intersperse these pictures evenly throughout the book. Some seagulls were interspersed among the ducks.
Recent Examples on the Web What is a Trump rally but a teleprompter reading of stump-speech slop, interspersed with inexplicable lorem ipsum about Hannibal Lecter and wind turbines spun up by the unknowable language model in Trump’s own head? Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 21 Oct. 2024 Left dry were fields of alfalfa, Bermuda grass and klein grass — in all more than 154,000 acres, or roughly a third of the valley’s irrigated land — forming a stark patchwork of brown fields interspersed with lush green crops. Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2024 The retrospective, which currently occupies an entire floor of the museum, is organized non-chronologically such that Schütte’s early subversions of Minimalism and Conceptualism, dating back to the 1970s, are interspersed among his more recent creations. Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 8 Oct. 2024 Typically such conferences consist of one lecture after another, each full of slides on molecular mechanisms and chemical pathways, interspersed with talks from patient advocates and caregivers. Emily Sohn, Scientific American, 17 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for intersperse 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'intersperse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin interspersus interspersed, from inter- + sparsus, past participle of spargere to scatter — more at spark

First Known Use

1566, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of intersperse was in 1566

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Dictionary Entries Near intersperse

Cite this Entry

“Intersperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intersperse. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

intersperse

verb
in·​ter·​sperse ˌint-ər-ˈspərs How to pronounce intersperse (audio)
interspersed; interspersing
1
: to set here and there among other things
intersperse pictures in a book
2
: to vary with things inserted here and there
interspersed the photo album with her poetry
interspersion noun

More from Merriam-Webster on intersperse

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