transfer
Americanverb (used with object)
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to convey or remove from one place, person, etc., to another.
He transferred the package from one hand to the other.
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to cause to pass from one person to another, as thought, qualities, or power; transmit.
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Law. to make over the possession or control of.
to transfer a title to land.
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to imprint, impress, or otherwise convey (a drawing, design, pattern, etc.) from one surface to another.
verb (used without object)
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to remove oneself from one place to another.
to transfer from the New York office to London.
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to withdraw from one school, college, or the like, and enter another.
I transferred from Rutgers to Tulane.
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to be moved from one place to another.
to transfer to overseas duty.
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to change by means of a transfer from one bus, train, or the like, to another.
noun
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a means or system of transferring.
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an act of transferring.
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the fact of being transferred.
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a point or place for transferring.
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a ticket entitling a passenger to continue a journey on another bus, train, or the like.
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a drawing, design, pattern, or the like, that is or may be transferred from one surface to another, usually by direct contact.
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a person who changes or is changed from one college, military unit, business department, etc., to another.
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Law. a conveyance, by sale, gift, or otherwise, of real or personal property, to another.
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Finance. the act of having the ownership of a stock or registered bond transferred.
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Also called transfer of training. Psychology. the positive or negative influence of prior learning on subsequent learning.
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Also called language transfer. Linguistics. the application of native-language rules in attempted performance in a second language, in some cases resulting in deviations from target-language norms and in other cases facilitating second-language acquisition.
adjective
verb
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to change or go or cause to change or go from one thing, person, or point to another
they transferred from the Park Hotel to the Imperial
she transferred her affections to her dog
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to change (buses, trains, etc)
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law to make over (property, etc) to another; convey
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to displace (a drawing, design, etc) from one surface to another
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(of a football player, esp a professional) to change clubs or (of a club, manager, etc) to sell or release (a player) to another club
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to leave one school, college, etc, and enrol at another
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to change (the meaning of a word, etc), esp by metaphorical extension
noun
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the act, process, or system of transferring, or the state of being transferred
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a person or thing that transfers or is transferred
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( as modifier )
a transfer student
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a design or drawing that is transferred from one surface to another, as by ironing a printed design onto cloth
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law the passing of title to property or other right from one person to another by act of the parties or by operation of law; conveyance
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finance
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the act of transferring the title of ownership to shares or registered bonds in the books of the issuing enterprise
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( as modifier )
transfer deed
transfer form
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any document or form effecting or regulating a transfer
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a ticket that allows a passenger to change routes
Usage
Where does transfer come from? Transfer is an excellent example of how a little knowledge of Latin can go a long way. Transfer entered English around 1350–40. It ultimately derives from the Latin verb trānsferre, which principally meant “to carry or bring across.” The verb is composed of two parts. The first part is trāns-, a prefix based on the adverb and preposition trāns, meaning “across, beyond, through.” The second part is ferre, a verb meaning “to bear, carry,” among many other senses. The English verb bear, as in “bearing a load,” is actually an etymological cousin to the Latin ferre. Trāns- and ferre appear in many other English words. Let’s start with ferre. Prefer comes from the Latin praeferre, “to bear or set before” (learn more at pre-, preference). Refer comes from the Latin referre, “to bring back” (re-, reference). Infer comes from inferre, “to bring in” (in-, inference). This next origin may put a new spin on the word for you: suffer comes from sufferre, literally “to bear under,” with suf- a variant of sub- “under.” Defer and deference ultimately comes from—slight curveball here—differre, “to bear apart, carry away.” Differre is also the source of differ, different, and difference. Now for trāns-. Trāns- was incredibly productive in Latin. That means it was used to produce many new words, especially verbs (and their related forms) that have made their way into English, including:
Does knowing that trāns- means “across, beyond, through” shed any new light on what these words mean?Some other common words directly derived from Latin and featuring trāns- are transit, translucent, and transparent. Trāns-, naturalized as trans-, is also very productive in English. Some familiar examples include transconintental, trans-fat, and transgender. Dig deeper Translate is another word related to transfer—and not just because they both feature the trans- prefix. Now, English has irregular verbs: saw is the past tense of see, for instance, and bought is the past tense of buy. Latin had irregular verbs, too, as do many other languages. Without getting too technical, the verb ferre (meaning, if you’ll recall, “to carry”) formed past tenses based on tulī (“I carried”), and formed part participles based on lātus. That means translate is derived from the past participle form of transfer: trānslātus, literally “carried across,” as in a text that has been copied over. Isn’t it wild how so many words are related? Yep, relate—along with relationship, relation, and many other words—comes from the past participle form of referre (“to carry back,” source of refer), which was relātus.Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nontransferabilitynoun
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retransfernoun
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transferabilitynoun
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transferrernoun
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retransferverb (used with object)
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nontransferableadjective
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transferableadjective
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transferrableadjective
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untransferableadjective
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untransferredadjective
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untransferringadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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transfersimple
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transferssimple
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have transferredperfect
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has transferredperfect
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am transferringprogressive
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are transferringprogressive
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is transferringprogressive
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have been transferringperfect progressive
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has been transferringperfect progressive
Past
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transferredsimple
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had transferredperfect
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was transferringprogressive
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were transferringprogressive
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had been transferringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of transfer
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English transferren, from Latin trānsferre, from trāns trans- + ferre “to bring, carry”; see also bear 1
Explanation
If you are moving something from one place to another, like transferring money from your savings account to your checking account, you are transferring it. Or, if you've been moved from one job site to another — you, my friend, have been transferred. Transfer can also be a noun that means the act of moving something from one form or location to another, so that money that was shifted from one account to another is considered a transfer. If you change something from one form to another, you can say that you transferred it. "Her mother had transferred all the old 8mm home movies to video tape. Now she'd have to transfer them again using a more modern technology."
Vocabulary lists containing transfer
Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Introductory
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Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Middle School
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Physical Science - Energy - Introductory
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Meanwhile, the signing of England centre-back John Stones, 32, on a free transfer could scupper 28-year-old Argentina defender Cristian Romero's hopes of joining the Italian club from Tottenham.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
"It begins with the transfer of gold from the mantle into a melt that eventually forms volcanoes. The alchemy starts long before the metal reaches the surface."
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
Across all applicants, including transfer students, out-of-state and international students, UC admitted 74%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
The 19-year-old is signing with Real Madrid in what can only be described as a record-setting transfer.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
He blinked at the screen, waiting for the transfer to start again.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Senior players like Mohamed Salah, Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate all left on free transfers too.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
California community colleges supply almost all of UC’s transfers, as they have for years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Like an IRS refund, there’s a standard processing time for the seed-money transfers, according to the Treasury Department.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 23, 2026
Next, an electron transfers from ZnSe to the phenoxyl radical.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 22, 2026
Hammie winks at Asher as she transfers our Artifact to him.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
The stronger and more repeated the melting becomes, the more effectively gold can be transferred into the magma.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 29, 2026
The Prison Officers' Association told the BBC that Rudakubana was transferred due to a deterioration in his mental health.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
He was taken into custody and transferred to Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall, where he is currently being held.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
A month after prosecutors filed the rape charges, Mr. Carroll was transferred to Salinas Valley State Prison, a men’s penitentiary, where he is still confined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Lilya Litvyak, Katya Budanova, Mariya Kuznetsova, and Raisa Belyaeva—the four pilots who’d transferred with their solo Yak fighters from the 586th to the men’s 437th Fighter Aviation Regiment—didn’t stay in the 437th very long.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
The company said it is aiming to optimize supply chains by transferring some production lines to different facilities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
“Individuals and families still see transferring to one of their campuses as a great cost saving strategy and pathway to an excellent education,” said Janet Robinson, SMC’s transfer faculty leader.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
“But we also underwrite and fund our own loans before transferring them for servicing. A big retail bank only has one rate sheet on the inside.”
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 17, 2026
According to Riesenhuber, transferring a well-learned skill into the temporal cortex frees the prefrontal cortex to focus on new challenges, allowing existing knowledge to serve as the foundation for future learning.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
This marked-up manuscript was then given to Laloo Chiba, who spent the next night transferring my writing to his own almost microscopic shorthand, reducing ten pages of foolscap to a single small piece of paper.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
