interpreter

American  

[in-tur-pri-ter] / ɪnˈtɜr prɪ tər /

noun

1. a person who interprets.

2. a person who provides an oral translation between speakers who speak different languages.

3. Computers.

   1. hardware or software that transforms one statement at a time of a program written in a high-level language into a sequence of machine actions and executes the statement immediately before going on to transform the next statement.

   2. an electromechanical device that reads the patterns of holes in punched cards and prints the same data on the cards, so that they can be read more conveniently by people.

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interpreter British  

/ ɪnˈtɜːprɪtə /

noun

1. a person who translates orally from one language into another

2. a person who interprets the work of others

3. computing

   1. a program that translates a second program to machine code one statement at a time and causes the execution of the resulting code as soon as the translation is completed

   2. a machine that interprets the holes in a punched card and prints the corresponding characters on that card

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interpretress
  noun
• interpretership
  noun

Etymology

Origin of interpreter

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English interpretour, from Anglo-French; equivalent to interpret + -er ²

Explanation

An interpreter is someone who translates something to make it understandable, usually spoken language. When your class takes a trip to Russia, you’ll likely have an interpreter to translate Russian to English so you can understand what people are saying to you. Need to talk to someone who doesn't speak your language? You'll need an interpreter. Say you're interviewing a Bulgarian diplomat, but you don't speak Bulgarian. The interpreter would listen to a few sentences in Bulgarian and then repeat them in English, and then listen to your English response and repeat that in Bulgarian. We also use interpreter for artists who represent ideas or places in their work. If you paint industrial cityscapes, you're an interpreter of urban life.

Example Sentences

His North Korean interpreter had whipped out a smartphone, opened an app called “Samhung” and hailed a ride with a service akin to Uber.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

"I have revealed everything I had to reveal. The Jonathan case is not part of it," said Ney, who was accompanied by an interpreter throughout the trial.

From Barron's • Jun. 4, 2026

“I have a pretty high standard as far as performance,” Ohtani said through an interpreter.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

She said she had now been offered a home by Liverpool City Council and hoped to retrain as a Polish interpreter, having previously worked as a property manager.

From BBC • May 20, 2026

He had dreamed of being an interpreter for diplomats and dignitaries, resolving conflicts between people and nations, settling disputes of which he alone could understand both sides.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

Related Words

• artist
• commentator
• editor
• exponent
• linguist
• philosopher
• scholar
• writer