transcribe

[ tran-skrahyb ]
See synonyms for: transcribetranscribed on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),tran·scribed, tran·scrib·ing.
  1. to make a written copy, especially a typewritten copy, of (dictated material, notes taken during a lecture, or other spoken material).

  2. to make an exact copy of (a document, text, etc.).

  1. to write out in another language or alphabet; translate or transliterate: to transcribe Chinese into English characters.

  2. Phonetics. to represent (speech sounds) in written phonetic or phonemic symbols.

  3. Radio. to make a recording of (a program, announcement, etc.) for broadcasting.

  4. Music. to arrange (a composition) for a medium other than that for which it was originally written.

  5. Genetics. to effect genetic transcription of (a DNA molecule template).

Origin of transcribe

1
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin trānscrībere “to copy off,” literally, “to write across,” from trāns- trans- + scrībere “to write” (see scribe1)

Other words from transcribe

  • tran·scrib·er, noun
  • mis·tran·scribe, verb (used with object), mis·tran·scribed, mis·tran·scrib·ing.
  • non·tran·scrib·ing, adjective
  • pre·tran·scribe, verb (used with object), pre·tran·scribed, pre·tran·scrib·ing.
  • re·tran·scribe, verb (used with object), re·tran·scribed, re·tran·scrib·ing.
  • un·tran·scribed, adjective

Words Nearby transcribe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use transcribe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for transcribe

transcribe

/ (trænˈskraɪb) /


verb(tr)
  1. to write, type, or print out fully from speech, notes, etc

  2. to make a phonetic transcription of

  1. to transliterate or translate

  2. to make an electrical recording of (a programme or speech) for a later broadcast

  3. music to rewrite (a piece of music) for an instrument or medium other than that originally intended; arrange

  4. computing

    • to transfer (information) from one storage device, such as punched cards, to another, such as magnetic tape

    • to transfer (information) from a computer to an external storage device

  5. (usually passive) biochem to convert the genetic information in (a strand of DNA) into a strand of RNA, esp messenger RNA: See also genetic code, translate (def. 6)

Origin of transcribe

1
C16: from Latin transcrībere, from trans- + scrībere to write

Derived forms of transcribe

  • transcribable, adjective
  • transcriber, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012