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

• interpretership noun
• interpretress noun

Etymology

Origin of interpreter

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

Example Sentences

Maria Superata, a geisha expert who has worked with them as an interpreter, explained that the show "combines all of the traditional performing arts that you can see in Japan".

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Mr. Guirgis is in many ways an ideal interpreter of the material.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Both spoke through an interpreter only to confirm their names and dates of birth.

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

“I actually felt pretty bad the last couple days, but today I was able to make an adjustment, so that’s what I really need for right now,” Sasaki said via an interpreter after his outing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

But the rumor was that, as an interpreter, he had access to information from fellow Isseis that he later used to buy his release.

From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston

Related Words

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