intersperse
verb
in·ter·sperse
ˌin-tər-ˈspərs 
interspersed; interspersing
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
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
The walkways will be interspersed with plazas, small parks and exercise stations.
—
Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
The nuclear reactions will occur within 15-minute-long periods that will be interspersed with one minute resets.
—ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Emory was still travelling between chess tournaments, and his posts were interspersed with blurry photos of hotels and dark city streets.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Anatomically, monocots have a series of tubes interspersed throughout their stems or trunks that take up water and minerals.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for intersperse
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Los Angeles Times, 12 June 2026
The nuclear reactions will occur within 15-minute-long periods that will be interspersed with one minute resets.
—ArsTechnica, 9 June 2026
Emory was still travelling between chess tournaments, and his posts were interspersed with blurry photos of hotels and dark city streets.
—Heidi Blake, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
Anatomically, monocots have a series of tubes interspersed throughout their stems or trunks that take up water and minerals.
—Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 4 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for intersperse
Cite this Entry
“Intersperse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/intersperse. Accessed 16 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
intersperse
verb
in·ter·sperse
ˌint-ər-ˈspərs
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
