interloper
Americannoun
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a person who interferes or meddles in the affairs of others.
He was an atheist who felt like an interloper in this religious gathering.
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an intruder; trespasser.
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a person who intrudes into some region or field of trade without a proper license.
noun
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an intruder
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a person who introduces himself into professional or social circles where he does not belong
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a person who interferes in matters that are not his concern
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a person who trades unlawfully
Etymology
Origin of interloper
First recorded in 1585–95; inter- + lope + -er 1 ( def. )
Explanation
If you intrude on people without their permission, you are an interloper. An interloper crashes parties and laughs at "No Trespassing" signs. Interloper was likely formed by combining inter-, ("between") with -loper, (from landloper, meaning "vagabond" or "adventurer"). An interloper, then, is someone who has ventured or traveled where he was not welcome. The noun interloper may also refer to something other than a person: "The new chain superstore built at the edge of town and was an interloper among the various mom-and-pop grocery stores in the area."
Vocabulary lists containing interloper
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She’s an interloper among established thespians, a woman in her late 50s who has only just begun listening to the little voice inside her, the one begging her to step outside her comfort zone.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
But Bernardez eventually earned acceptance by establishing himself as someone who was committed to the neighborhood, not an interloper.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
Setup: Woody, a pull-string doll from the 1950s and the favorite of his owner Andy, feels threatened by the newfangled interloper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Yet O’Connor condemned RIH’s move as an underhanded gambit to “circumvent” his authority, as though he alone had a claim to litigate this dispute and McElroy was an impudent interloper.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
They’ve been friends for an eon, and technically, I’m the interloper, so no big deal.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
