interloper
/ˌɪntɚˈloʊ̯pɚ/noun
interloper is spelled I-N-T-E-R-L-O-P-E-R: 10 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, interloper means “One who interferes, intrudes, or gets involved where not welcome; particularly, a self-interested intruder” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of interloper is interlopers.
How many letters and syllables are in interloper?
| Letters | 10: I-N-T-E-R-L-O-P-E-R |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 5 million words; the 65,913th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is interloper?
Interloper appears about once in every 5 million words in written English, the 65,913th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce interloper?
- UK /ˌɪntəˈləʊ̯pə/
- US /ˌɪntɚˈloʊ̯pɚ/
- Australia /ˌɪntəˈlæɔ̯pə/
Interloper has 4 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-interloper.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with interloper?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as interloper from its last stressed vowel (/oʊpəɹ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of interloper
- interlopers plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does interloper mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
One who interferes, intrudes, or gets involved where not welcome; particularly, a self-interested intruder.
They disliked the interloper, and forced him to leave.
- 2
obsoleteAn unlicensed or illegitimate trader.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Interloper in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense one who interferes:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | intrus |
| German | Eindringling |
| Spanish | intruso, entremetido, entrometido, detentador |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does interloper come from?
From inter- + loper (“runner, rover”), as in landloper (“vagrant”) (from lope (“to leap, to jump”) (originally dialectal)). Originally spelt enterloper and used in specific sense, “unauthorized trader trespassing on privileges of chartered companies”, later general sense of “self-interested intruder” from 1630s.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).