kibitzer

kibitzer
noun
ki·;bitz·;er ;ki-b;t-s;r  k;-;bit-
variants or less commonly kibbitzer
Synonyms of kibitzer
: one who looks on and often offers unwanted advice or comment
a kibitzer at a card game
broadly : one who offers opinions


Did you know?
The Yiddish language has given English some particularly piquant terms over the years, and kibitzer (or kibbitzer) is one such term. Kibitzer, from the Yiddish kibitser, came to that language from the German word kiebitzen, meaning "to look on (at cards)." Kiebitzen may or may not be derived from a German word for "lapwing," a type of bird noted for its shrill and raucous cry. (We can speculate that the bird's cry reminded people of the shrill commentary of onlookers at card games.) The word became more popular and widespread after the 1929 play The Kibitzer came out. Although kibitzer usually implies the imparting of unwanted advice, there is a respectable body of evidence for a kibitzer as a person simply making comments.

Synonyms of kibitzer
Relevance
intruder
gossiper
meddler
interloper
busybody
buttinsky
spy
informer
Examples of kibitzer in a Sentence
a nosy kibitzer who always knows who is dating whom
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
At times, a dozen kibitzers looked on.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Dec. 2025
Still, there are boundaries to keep the kibitzers out of the law library, operating room and locker room so the experts can get the job done.
—Karla L. Miller, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Feb. 2023
Still, there are boundaries to keep the kibitzers out of the law library, operating room and locker room so the experts can get the job done.
—Karla L. Miller, Washington Post, 23 Feb. 2023
These two teamed up on morning radio in 1946 to invent the celebrity-interview talk show, featuring a gamut of guests from Hollywood mermaid Esther Williams to kibitzer-to-presidents Bernard Baruch.
—Edward Kosner, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2022
The problem is partly a failure to appreciate that the Radicals were kibitzers, as many legislators are.
—Andrew Ferguson, The Atlantic, 12 Mar. 2020
Though all of Mr. Nelson’s Rhinebeck plays have featured strong female characters, in this one, he more or less turns the stage over to them entirely (though Mr. Sanders, wonderful as always, is a gallant kibitzer).
—Ben Brantley, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2016

Word History
Etymology
borrowed from Yiddish kibetser, from kibetsn "to kibitz" + -er -er entry 2

First Known Use
1922, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kibitzer was in 1922