transmit

American  

[trans-mit, tranz-] / trænsˈmɪt, trænz- /

verb (used with object)

transmitted, transmitting

1. to send or forward, as to a recipient or destination; dispatch; convey.

   Synonyms:

   remit, transfer

2. to communicate, as information or news.

   Synonyms:

   bear

3. to pass or spread (disease, infection, etc.) to another.

4. to pass on (a genetic characteristic) from parent to offspring.

   The mother transmitted her red hair to her daughter.

5. Physics.

   1. to cause (light, heat, sound, etc.) to pass through a medium.

   2. to convey or pass along (an impulse, force, motion, etc.).

   3. to permit (light, heat, etc.) to pass through.

      Glass transmits light.

6. Radio and Television. to emit (electromagnetic waves).

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verb (used without object)

transmitted, transmitting

1. to send a signal by wire, radio, or television waves.

2. to pass on a right or obligation to heirs or descendants.

transmit British  

/ trænzˈmɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to pass or cause to go from one place or person to another; transfer

2. (tr) to pass on or impart (a disease, infection, etc)

3. (tr) to hand down to posterity

4. (tr; usually passive) to pass (an inheritable characteristic) from parent to offspring

5. to allow the passage of (particles, energy, etc)

   radio waves are transmitted through the atmosphere

6. 1. to send out (signals) by means of radio waves or along a transmission line

   2. to broadcast (a radio or television programme)

7. (tr) to transfer (a force, motion, power, etc) from one part of a mechanical system to another

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Related Words

See carry.

Other Word Forms

• nontransmittible adjective
• pretransmit verb (used with object)
• retransmit verb (used with object)
• transmittable adjective
• transmittal noun
• transmittible adjective
• untransmitted adjective

Etymology

Origin of transmit

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English transmitten, from Latin trānsmittere “to send across,” from trāns- trans- + mittere “to send”

Explanation

If you’re an international spy, you might transmit secret messages using a special code written in invisible ink. If you aren’t a spy, you could probably just use email. Whatever your circumstances, when you transmit information, you send. You can transmit things from person to person or from one thing to another. The airwaves can be used to transmit radio or TV signals, for example, and computers can transmit messages over a network. This verb often describes messages or data being sent, but you can also transmit ideas, beliefs, or attitude. In addition, transmit can describe the spread of disease, like mosquitoes that can transmit disease when they bite.

Example Sentences

During a 2024 nationwide network outage for AT&T, which operates the FirstNet service, ambulance crews couldn’t transmit electronic medical records to hospitals.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026

Credo’s AECs are copper-based wires embedded with chips that are used to transmit data at high speeds between servers.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 14, 2026

These receptors sit on the surface of cells and help transmit signals that control many processes in the body.

From Science Daily • Apr. 6, 2026

They wear a combat vest which contains a radio/GPS-coded beacon to transmit their position, while they also carry water, food, first-aid material and a pistol in order to survive.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

“The simulations stimulate the amygdala* which is responsible for processing fear, induce a hallucination based on that fear, and then transmit the data to a computer to be processed and observed.”

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

Related Words

• address
• broadcast
• carry
• conduct
• convey
• disseminate
• impart
• pass on
• relay
• spread
• transfer
• translate
• transport