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

“That’s a very natural reaction,” Uniqlo founder Tadashi Yanai told me through an interpreter.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

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

From BBC • Mar. 19, 2026

The interpreter at the hospital, a woman about my age with a wide, round face, cried as she delivered the news.

From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez

Related Words

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