interview

interview — noun

1. a formal meeting where an employer or an admissions officer asks a person questi

1.nounA2
Definition

a formal meeting where an employer or an admissions officer asks a person questions and then decides whether to hire them or let them join a school or university programme.

Example

Hao prepared thoroughly for his job interview at the engineering firm.

collocation: job interview

The interview panel asked Shirin about her experience with project management.

collocation: interview panel

Common collocations
  • job interview
  • interview panel
  • interview process
  • interview room
  • interview questions
  • interview technique
  • first / second interview
Synonyms
  • job talk

    informal; only used for short screening conversations

  • audition

    for performers or artists; involves demonstration of skill rather than question-and-answer

Common Mistakes

I have an interview of the university tomorrow.
I have an interview at / with the university tomorrow.
Use 'at' or 'with' for the institution, not 'of'.
She had an interview for a loan.
She had an interview for a job / a place on a course.
An interview in this sense is for jobs or study, not for services or products.

2. a conversation, often recorded or broadcast, where a journalist poses questions

2.nounB1
Definition

a conversation, often recorded or broadcast, where a journalist poses questions to someone about their life, work, or opinions for a newspaper, magazine, radio programme, or television show.

Example

The journalist recorded a one-hour interview with the newly elected mayor.

collocation: interview with [person]

In a radio interview, Dr. Okafor explained the latest climate data in simple language.

collocation: radio interview

Common collocations
  • give an interview
  • do an interview
  • record an interview
  • live interview
  • television interview
  • radio interview
  • newspaper interview
Synonyms
  • one-on-one

    informal; emphasises the private rather than public nature of the conversation

  • Q&A

    shorter and more structured; often written rather than spoken

Common Mistakes

The president did an interview from CNN.
The president gave an interview to CNN.
Use 'give an interview to' for the person being asked; 'do an interview with' is also possible.

3. a formal session in which police officers question a person who may have been in

3.nounB2
Definition

a formal session in which police officers question a person who may have been involved in a crime, following legal procedures.

Example

The suspect asked for a lawyer before the police interview began.

collocation: police interview

Detective Chen reviewed the recorded police interview for any new evidence.

Common collocations
  • police interview
  • conduct an interview
  • recorded interview
  • legal rules
  • interview room
  • suspect interview
Synonyms
  • interrogation

    more forceful; implies pressure or hostility; often without the suspect's full cooperation

  • questioning

    more general; can refer to informal or preliminary enquiries

Usage Note

Distinguish from interrogation, which is more aggressive and typically involves a suspect who has not agreed to cooperate voluntarily. A police interview in UK and Taiwanese law must follow guidelines such as the right to legal representation and the right to remain silent.

Common Mistakes

The police did an interview with the criminal on the street.
The police conducted an interview with the suspect at the station.
A police interview is a formal, recorded procedure at a police station, not a casual street conversation.

interview — verb

Word family

  • interviewer
    nounB1
  • interviewee
    nounB1
  • interviewed
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Interview (noun/1) is the broadest term for a formal question-and-answer meeting to evaluate someone for a job or course. An audition is a specific type of interview for performers — the focus is on demonstrating a skill (singing, dancing, acting) rather than answering questions. Screening is a short, early-round interview used to narrow down a large pool of applicants before full interviews take place. Consultation, in human-resources contexts, is a one-sided advice session rather than an evaluation; the consultant gives information while the interviewer receives it. In practice: 'After a phone screening, the company invited Asher for an in-person interview. Successful candidates then do a teaching audition.'

interview ↗audition ↗screening ↗consultation ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • go for an interview
  • have an interview
  • be called for an interview
  • attend an interview

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Interview entered English in the early 1500s from French entrevue, meaning 'a meeting between two people to see each other.' The French word comes from entrevoir — 'to see each other, to meet briefly' — which combines Latin inter ('between') and videre ('to see'). The shift from 'seeing each other' to 'a formal question session' happened in the 1800s, when newspapers popularised the journalist-subject meeting format.