interpreter
Americannoun
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a person who interprets.
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a person who provides an oral translation between speakers who speak different languages.
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Computers.
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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.
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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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noun
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a person who translates orally from one language into another
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a person who interprets the work of others
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computing
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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
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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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing interpreter
Code Talker
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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.
"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
Before winning office, she was a Chinese interpreter and then an aide for nearly 15 years to several different Democratic politicians from the Bay Area, including then-San Francisco Dist.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 3, 2026
It has shortened interpreter hours, powered down escalators and ignored loose cladding on its 75-year-old headquarters in New York.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 30, 2026
Tusk, speaking through an interpreter, said the UK and Poland's "shared values", including rule of law and human rights, provided the "foundation of the treaty".
From BBC • May 27, 2026
If the student has an educational or sign language interpreter, work closely with the interpreter for optimal success.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions 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.
