transmit
Americanverb (used with object)
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transmits,
present (3rd person singular)
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transmitted,
past participle, past
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transmitting
present participle
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to send or forward, as to a recipient or destination; dispatch; convey.
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to communicate, as information or news.
- Synonyms:
- bear
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to pass or spread (disease, infection, etc.) to another.
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to pass on (a genetic characteristic) from parent to offspring.
The mother transmitted her red hair to her daughter.
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Physics.
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to cause (light, heat, sound, etc.) to pass through a medium.
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to convey or pass along (an impulse, force, motion, etc.).
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to permit (light, heat, etc.) to pass through.
Glass transmits light.
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Radio and Television. to emit (electromagnetic waves).
verb (used without object)
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transmits,
present (3rd person singular)
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transmitted,
past participle, past
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transmitting
present participle
-
to send a signal by wire, radio, or television waves.
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to pass on a right or obligation to heirs or descendants.
verb
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(tr) to pass or cause to go from one place or person to another; transfer
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(tr) to pass on or impart (a disease, infection, etc)
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(tr) to hand down to posterity
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(tr; usually passive) to pass (an inheritable characteristic) from parent to offspring
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to allow the passage of (particles, energy, etc)
radio waves are transmitted through the atmosphere
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to send out (signals) by means of radio waves or along a transmission line
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to broadcast (a radio or television programme)
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(tr) to transfer (a force, motion, power, etc) from one part of a mechanical system to another
Synonym Usage
See carry.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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transmittalnoun
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pretransmitverb (used with object)
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retransmitverb (used with object)
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nontransmittibleadjective
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transmittableadjective
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transmittibleadjective
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untransmittedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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transmitsimple
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transmitssimple
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have transmittedperfect
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has transmittedperfect
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am transmittingprogressive
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are transmittingprogressive
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is transmittingprogressive
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have been transmittingperfect progressive
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has been transmittingperfect progressive
Past
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transmittedsimple
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had transmittedperfect
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was transmittingprogressive
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were transmittingprogressive
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had been transmittingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing transmit
Tier 2 Words for the SBAC ELA Items
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Send a Message: Mit and Miss
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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:
Although the researchers have demonstrated that the plasma filament can transmit radio waves, its ability to receive signals and operate across a broad range of frequencies still needs to be tested.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 9, 2026
Pillinger persuaded Britpop band Blur to compose a distinctive call-sign that Beagle 2 would transmit to Earth after landing.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
As time passes since her death and no related fatalities or illnesses are reported, the likelihood grows that either the woman didn’t have the plague or didn’t transmit it to others.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Plus, an infected deer tick must keep its harpoon-like feeding tube in the bloodstream for 36 to 48 hours to transmit the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The hidden messages had begun to transmit directly into their minds—no more need for television, radios, or anything else.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
The deputy prime minister said it transmits internet traffic through Poland to countries including Ukraine, and uses SpaceX systems that provide connectivity via Starlink terminals.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
“Beyond the result, we have to enjoy him. What he transmits to the world is incredible.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
Daniel Senna, a 31-year-old patient at the Maugeri Hospital, transmits his pain level on a screen attached to the robot's chest.
From Barron's ● Jun. 19, 2026
The system places a nonlinear waveguide between two optical filters, each of which transmits a different portion of the light spectrum.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 4, 2026
He tells me to be careful, and that he will be monitoring anything that transmits through my microphone.
From "Legend" by Marie Lu
Six separate photographs were transmitted to Earth and combined to create the sweeping view.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
It can occur in several forms, among them pneumonic plague, which is the most contagious type and can be transmitted by respiratory means.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
“Don’t trust U.S. Navy and don’t use south corridor at all and don’t put your life in danger,” a radio message transmitted on a public shipping channel and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
An infected animal can pass rabies to another animal or to a person through its bite, but that’s not the only way it can be transmitted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
For example, typhus was initially transmitted between rats by rat fleas, which sufficed for a while to transfer typhus from rats to humans.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
The South later resumed border loudspeaker broadcasts for the first time in six years, including K-pop and international news, while the North began transmitting strange, eerie sounds across the frontier, unsettling South Korean residents.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
The pair had flown out from Glasgow Airport at 16:17 and stopped transmitting at 16:37, a few miles north east of the village of Drymen near Stirling.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
Mr. Chatten’s baritone voice, delivered with a growl and processed to sound as if it’s transmitting from a crackly pirate radio station, recalls Curtis’s tone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
In March 2000, as the bubble burst, shares of companies in the business of transmitting data, or networking, plummeted too.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 19, 2026
Mediums like the Fox sisters acted like human batteries, storing and transmitting unseen energy.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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