interpreter

[ in-tur-pri-ter ]
See synonyms for interpreter on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person who interprets.

  2. a person who provides an oral translation between speakers who speak different languages.

  1. Computers.

    • 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.: Compare compiler (def. 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.

Origin of interpreter

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English interpretour, from Anglo-French; equivalent to interpret + -er2

Words Nearby interpreter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use interpreter in a sentence

  • Long before reason found the answer, instinct—swift, merciless interpreter—told him plainly.

    The Wave | Algernon Blackwood
  • The Patriarch went to him, and, with the help of an interpreter, did for him what pertained to his office as a good Pastor.

  • Several American officers were present on the occasion, accompanied by a Spanish half-caste who acted as their interpreter.

    The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
  • Lowell was frankly worried as he sped away from the agency with Plenty Buffalo and the interpreter.

    Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman
  • "Plenty Buffalo wants to know if you noticed all the pony tracks," said the interpreter.

    Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for interpreter

interpreter

/ (ɪnˈtɜːprɪtə) /


noun
  1. a person who translates orally from one language into another

  2. a person who interprets the work of others

  1. computing

    • 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

    • a machine that interprets the holes in a punched card and prints the corresponding characters on that card

Derived forms of interpreter

  • interpretership, noun
  • interpretress, fem n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012