transcribe
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make a written copy, especially a typewritten copy, of (dictated material, notes taken during a lecture, or other spoken material).
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to make an exact copy of (a document, text, etc.).
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to write out in another language or alphabet; translate or transliterate.
to transcribe Chinese into English characters.
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Phonetics. to represent (speech sounds) in written phonetic or phonemic symbols.
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Radio. to make a recording of (a program, announcement, etc.) for broadcasting.
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Music. to arrange (a composition) for a medium other than that for which it was originally written.
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Genetics. to effect genetic transcription of (a DNA molecule template).
verb
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to write, type, or print out fully from speech, notes, etc
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to make a phonetic transcription of
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to transliterate or translate
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to make an electrical recording of (a programme or speech) for a later broadcast
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music to rewrite (a piece of music) for an instrument or medium other than that originally intended; arrange
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computing
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to transfer (information) from one storage device, such as punched cards, to another, such as magnetic tape
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to transfer (information) from a computer to an external storage device
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(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
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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transcribernoun
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mistranscribeverb (used with object)
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pretranscribeverb (used with object)
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retranscribeverb (used with object)
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nontranscribingadjective
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transcribableadjective
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untranscribedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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transcribesimple
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transcribessimple
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have transcribedperfect
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has transcribedperfect
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am transcribingprogressive
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are transcribingprogressive
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is transcribingprogressive
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have been transcribingperfect progressive
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has been transcribingperfect progressive
Past
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transcribedsimple
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had transcribedperfect
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was transcribingprogressive
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were transcribingprogressive
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had been transcribingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of transcribe
First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin trānscrībere “to copy off,” literally, “to write across,” from trāns- trans- + scrībere “to write” ( see scribe 1)
Explanation
If someone asks you to transcribe something, they want you to listen to it and write down what was said, word for word. Speeches, interviews, and trials are often transcribed for records. From the Latin transcribere, which means “to copy, write over, or transfer,” the verb transcribe means just that: to write out a copy. You might want to transcribe a recording of an interview onto paper, or maybe you need to transcribe all the notes you collected from an important meeting. If you can remember that trans means “over” and that a scribe is a writer, you shouldn’t forget this word. Fun fact: to transcribe poorly is to transcribble.
Vocabulary lists containing transcribe
The Write Stuff: Scrib, Script
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"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan
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The Westing Game
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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:
Pocket is a $129 screen-free device about the size of a credit card that can record and transcribe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Grace Parsonage, English Heritage's assistant curator for the South East, said: "It's been a real treat to work through this remarkable collection, alongside our volunteers, to record and transcribe these messages from the past."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
For around 15 years, the researcher has worked with students on a project to transcribe music broadcast by television and radio or on vinyl.
From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026
“If the system can’t transcribe you accurately, you get a zero on that question.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
I stared down at the page; and well can it be imagined how little I perceived of the meaning of Mr. Locke’s disquisition on space and place; though I shall transcribe and seek to understand.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
It then transcribes the answers and allows recipients to determine whether or not they want to take the call.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Dr Mirsa-Sharp started using Heidi Health, a free AI-assisted medical transcription tool that listens and transcribes patient appointments, about four months ago and says it has made a big difference.
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025
A cell transcribes the ORF sequence into messenger RNA, which travels to cellular factories called ribosomes that assemble amino acid sequences into proteins.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024
One component is the prime editor, which combines a SpCas9 protein, used in the first CRISPR-Cas gene editing technology, and a reverse transcriptase, an enzyme that transcribes RNA into DNA.
From Science Daily ● May 29, 2024
For example, English transcribes about 40 phonemes with a mere 26 letters.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
For one, the former attorney general will not be under oath in a sworn deposition but will provide a transcribed interview, which is voluntary.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
But the first time I transcribed an interview I’d conducted with my breathy, inconsistent voice, I felt like one giant cringe.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026
They added Lord Mandelson holds "critical information" linked to their investigation to Epstein's operations and have requested he makes himself available for a transcribed interview.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
Her name wasn’t Dido but Elishat, transcribed by the ancient Greeks as Elissa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026
Mac ingeniously hid the transcribed version of the manuscript inside the binding of a number of notebooks he used for his studies.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
He says he has since changed his name on Zoom from “Jeremy Levine” to “Jeremy Levine I do not consent to transcribing or recording.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Microsoft also unveiled other in-house models for generating images, transcribing audio, creating synthetic voices and coding.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
I make a lot of phone calls for stories, and meticulously transcribing those interviews has been the bane of my existence since I was in high school.
From Slate ● May 24, 2026
Teams have been creating high resolution images, transcribing the data and uploading it onto Kew's portal, which grants researchers worldwide remote access to the collection.
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
“A language you cannot speak yourself is not necessarily a god-awful mess,” Celia says, transcribing a line of symbols into her notebook.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
