interloper

noun in·ter·lop·er \ ˌin-tər-ˈlō-pər , ˈin-tər-ˌlō- \

Definition of interloper

:one that interlopes: such as

a :an illegal or unlicensed trader

b :one that intrudes in a place or sphere of activity

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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 of interloper from the Web

After a mysterious couple crashed at Karen Fox and Michael Tufo's wedding in New Jersey on Saturday, the bride went on a mission to find out who the two interlopers were.

— laura beck, Cosmopolitan, "Bride Goes on a Mission to Find the Couple Who Hilariously Wedding Crashed Her Big Day," 13 Aug. 2017
But McMaster’s show of force has set off alarm bells among Bannon allies in the pro-Trump media sphere, who favored Flynn and regard the national-security adviser as a globalist interloper.

— rosie gray, The Atlantic, "The War Against H.R. McMaster," 4 Aug. 2017
There will likely be a female interloper among the cult, who either infiltrated the group or got swept into it.

— laura bradley, vanityfair.com, "Let’s Try to Decode the Meaning of American Horror Story: Cult," 21 July 2017
There will likely be a female interloper among the cult, who either infiltrated the group or got swept into it.

— laura bradley, HWD, "Let’s Try to Decode the Meaning of American Horror Story: Cult," 21 July 2017
His perturbed spirit remains dumbly attached to his former home, agitated by interlopers, and causes the lights to blink or dishes to shatter in a rage born of confusion.

— gary thompson, Philly.com, "Casey Affleck gives a really sheety performance in 'A Ghost Story.'," 18 July 2017
But something strange happened as Kimmel chatted with Will on Thursday night: an interloper took to the stage, wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

— vanityfair.com, "Watch Late-Night Boogeyman Jon Stewart Crash Jimmy Kimmel Live!," 14 July 2017
But something strange happened as Kimmel chatted with Will on Thursday night: an interloper took to the stage, wearing a T-shirt and jeans.

— laura bradley, HWD, "Watch Late-Night Boogeyman Jon Stewart Crash Jimmy Kimmel Live!," 14 July 2017
This wooden 1992 action thriller stars the late Bill Paxton and William Sadler as the white interlopers stumbling onto a black gang's turf.

— chris ball, cleveland.com, "'T2 Trainspotting,' now on DVD and Blu-ray (review)," 4 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'interloper.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The History of interloper

When English speakers combined "inter-" with "-loper" in the late 1500s, they already had a word landloper (now archaic) for "a person who runs about the land" (in other words, a vagrant). The "-loper" part of "interloper" is related to Middle Dutch and Old English words meaning "to run" and "to leap." An "interloper" is essentially one who jumps into the midst of things without an invitation to do so. In its earliest uses, "interloper" referred specifically to one who interfered in trade illegally - that is, a trader who trespassed on the rights or charters of others. Sometimes "interloper" even referred to a ship employed in illegal trading. But the word quickly took on extended use, coming to refer not just to intrusion in trade but also in personal affairs or other matters.