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
Beowulf
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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Long Walk to Freedom
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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.
The interloper came from an unlikely place: Ohio.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026
Ultimately, Maximilian never shed the stigma of being a foreign interloper.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 24, 2025
The career interloper was on the cusp of becoming the establishment, if he wasn’t already.
From Slate • Sep. 10, 2025
The last time he played Glastonbury, in 2002, he was viewed as an interloper – sitting awkwardly on the bill beside the likes of The White Stripes, Coldplay and Orbital.
From BBC • Jun. 24, 2025
I no longer wanted the Captain to be a Nazi spy or an interloper.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
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.
