intruder
Britishnoun
Explanation
An intruder is someone who enters a place or situation despite not being invited. If a Girl Scout comes to your door to sell you cookies but ends up trying to watch TV with you, you can call her an intruder. Some intruders are robbers who break into homes or businesses with the intent to steal things: "The intruder was charged with trespassing, and later was found to have stolen some jewelry and cash." Other intruders might instead invade someone's privacy. Intruder comes from the verb intrude, from the Latin root intrudere, "to thrust in," a combination of in- and trudere, "to thrust or to push."
Vocabulary lists containing intruder
Island of the Blue Dolphins
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"Fear" and "Violence Hits Home"
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"Time Trip: Sudan’s Civil War" and "Sudanese Tribes Confront Modern War"
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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.
On Monday, a Los Angeles County Superior Court jury found that Manuel “Snuffy” Quintero was the intruder who got away those early morning hours of Nov. 3, 2010.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Window reflections have been misconstrued as a possible intruder and a tornado.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
Tony Martin, the farmer who shot dead a teenage intruder at his isolated Norfolk home in 1999, left more than £2.5m to a "very loyal friend", his will reveals.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2026
Investigators believe someone will recognize the intruder through their clothing, gait or appearance, giving the case crucial momentum after days with few leads.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
Being nearer the top of the stairs than the badger, he ran straight into the intruder.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
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.
