kibitzer

noun

ki·bitz·er ˈki-bət-sər kə-ˈbit-

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.

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. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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 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