TLDR: sometimes EN definitions might mislead you, specially from [Jisho.org](https://Jisho.org). They might be wrong or incomplete.
Writing this for myself mostly, but this might be useful for anyone, specially at lower levels. Always take EN definitions with a grain of salt, specially the ones from [Jisho.org](https://Jisho.org) (and that extends to the Yomichan EN dictionaries).
It just so happened I yesterday encountered the word 内定 while reading some Japanese job offers. A quick Jisho.org search gives you the meaning “unofficial offer (esp. job offer); tentative decision”.
However, I had the luck to encounter it again today and out of pure curiosity to test my reading, I googled it in Japanese. Pretty much all the definitions come down to: “内定は労働契約が締結された状態を指します。” (内定 is the state in which a labor contract has been concluded). Taken from the following site, which also compares it to the actual word for tentative offer \[採用\]: [https://www.wantedly.com/hiringeek/recruit/decision/](https://www.wantedly.com/hiringeek/recruit/decision/)
Those are opposite ideas. It is not a tentative offer, it is an official offer/contract.
This site pretty much also confirms it is an official and not a tentative offer \[**役職への就任\]**: [https://www.kaonavi.jp/dictionary/naitei/](https://www.kaonavi.jp/dictionary/naitei/)
So yeah, that’s it. 🙂 I don’t think [Jisho.org](https://Jisho.org) is useless or that you should avoid it, but do be careful!
2 comments
I don’t think this is JMdict being misleading or wrong, it just doesn’t have that alternate definition, which seems to be specific to the labor market. You can suggest changes and new additions [here](https://www.edrdg.org/jmdictdb/cgi-bin/srchform.py) if you come across a case like that, btw
Wikipedia has these definitions for 内定:
> 内定（ないてい）は、
> * 内々で決まることの意。
* 就職活動における解約権留保付労働契約の通称。本項で詳述する。
The article also mentions that the employment-related meaning is different from the usual one:
> 一般的な意味と異なり、この場合は正式に労働契約が成立している。
ないてい２【内定】 (naitei)
〔仮の[内々の]決定〕 (a) tentative [private] decision; 〔非公式の決定〕 (an) unofficial [informal] decision; (an) informal settlement; 〔就職の〕 a (tentative) job offer; an informal [unofficial] promise of employment.
～する 〈人が主語〉 decide informally [unofficially]; 〈事が主語〉 be informally [provisionally, tentatively] arranged [decided].
彼の後任は加藤氏に内定している. It has been tentatively decided that Mr. Katō should succeed him in his post. ｜ Provisionally [Subject to formal approval], Mr. Katō is to take over from him.
・彼は新しい銀行の頭取に内定している. He has been informally designated president of the new bank.
・彼女は新聞社に就職が内定した. She’s been unofficially promised a job with a newspaper company. ｜ She’s been offered a job on a newspaper.
なかなか内定が取れない. I’m not getting any job offers. ｜ Nobody is offering me a job.
(採用する側が)内定を出す tentatively offer sb a job; make sb an unofficial job offer; promise sb that one will employ him (subject to confirmation)
・内定を取り消す cancel [withdraw, renege on] a job offer [an unofficial decision to employ sb]; cancel an informal appointment
・いくつも内定を頂いた. I’ve (tentatively) been offered several jobs. ｜ Several companies have said they are willing to have me, subject to confirmation.
内定取り消し job cancellation; cancellation of [revoking of, withdrawing of] a job offer.
就職内定率 the ratio of students receiving tentative job offers.
source: Kenkyusha’s New Japanese-English Dictionary 5th edition