transmitter

American  

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

noun

transmitters plural

1. a person or thing that transmits.

2. Also called transmitting set.  Radio. a device for sending electromagnetic waves; the part of a broadcasting apparatus that generates and modulates the radiofrequency current and conveys it to the antenna.

3. the part of a telephonic or telegraphic apparatus that converts sound waves or mechanical movements into corresponding electric waves or impulses.

4. Biochemistry. neurotransmitter.

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transmitter British  

/ trænzˈmɪtə /

noun

1. a person or thing that transmits

2. the equipment used for generating and amplifying a radio-frequency carrier, modulating the carrier with information, and feeding it to an aerial for transmission

3. the microphone in a telephone that converts sound waves into audio-frequency electrical signals

4. a device that converts mechanical movements into coded electrical signals transmitted along a telegraph circuit

5. physiol short for neurotransmitter

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transmitter Scientific  

/ trăns′mĭt-ər /

1. A device that converts sound, light, or electrical signals into radio, microwave, or other electrical signals of sufficient strength for the purpose of telecommunication.

2. Compare receiver

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• transmitters
  plural

Etymology

Origin of transmitter

First recorded in 1720–30; transmit + -er ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transmitter transmitters

Each animal was equipped with a waterproof heart rate monitor, dive recorder, and radio transmitter.

From Science Daily ● May 9, 2026

For decades, proportional response functioned less as a strategy than a ritual: hit a transmitter, strike a barracks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

All one needs is "another radio transmitter that can broadcast on the same frequency, but louder," she said, which creates "a wall of mush."

From Barron's ● Mar. 8, 2026

We passed the camera and transmitter gear which had been set up to observe not only monkeys but black bears, boar and many other wild species in Shennongjia.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2025

Today we combine a laser and a photocell, or a radar transmitter and a radio telescope, and in this way make active contact by light with distant objects.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Jamming of foreign broadcasts was pioneered by Nazi Germany during World War Two, using noise or signals from more powerful transmitters located closer to the listeners.

From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026

The agency's transmitters began sending out "involuntary signal emissions", YPA said.

From Barron's ● Jan. 13, 2026

Anti-money-laundering laws are tough on banks and money transmitters.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 2, 2026

Between 2017 and 2023, the Arizona-based research team used satellite transmitters to follow 24 newly fledged Bald Eagles and two nonbreeding adults and to map how they moved within and beyond the state.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 11, 2025

Then in 1941, the SS sent Sargo a young German radio expert, who built powerful transmitters and radio networks that could reliably reach Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield