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

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.

Example Sentences

The Glaswegian has for several years had a sign language interpreter onstage at his shows.

From BBC • Apr. 9, 2026

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

It rained throughout the fall and into winter, and poppies need at least seven inches of rain to make a good showing, said Lori Wear, an interpreter at the reserve.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

There’s an interpreter, in the standard blue suit and red-patterned tie, with the winged-eye tie pin.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Related Words

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