interloper
noun
in·ter·lop·er
ˌin-tər-ˈlō-pər 
ˈin-tər-ˌlō-
: one that interlopes: such as
a
: one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity
b
: an illegal or unlicensed trader
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The History of Interloper
The -loper part of interloper is believed to be either from an English dialectal word meaning "leap" or from a Dutch word meaning "to run." (The prefix inter- means "between" or "among.") An interloper is essentially one that jumps into the midst of things without an invitation to do so.
Examples of interloper in a Sentence
I had hoped to help my neighbors, but they regarded me as an interloper.
summer residents were regarded as interlopers who had no deep commitment to the town's welfare
Recent Examples on the Web
It has been embroiled in its fair share of bureaucracy fights and agency turf wars with chief information officers across government who resented interlopers treading in their agency's systems.
—
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2025
We’re supposed to hate Moore’s uppity interloper, Patty, but twist!
—Eddie Mouradian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
The players are stressing words like discipline and details, and becoming increasingly irritated by interlopers mentioning the phrase complacency.
—Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2025
Fire is the native, natural presence, and human development is the invasive interloper.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for interloper
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2025
We’re supposed to hate Moore’s uppity interloper, Patty, but twist!
—Eddie Mouradian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
The players are stressing words like discipline and details, and becoming increasingly irritated by interlopers mentioning the phrase complacency.
—Troy Renck, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2025
Fire is the native, natural presence, and human development is the invasive interloper.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 12 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for interloper
Cite this Entry
“Interloper.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interloper. Accessed 17 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
interloper
noun
in·ter·lop·er
ˌint-ər-ˈlō-pər
ˈint-ər-ˌlō-pər
: a person who intrudes or interferes wrongly or meddlesomely
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