transact
Americanverb (used with object)
-
transacts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
transacted,
past participle, past
-
transacting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
transacts,
present (3rd person singular)
-
transacted,
past participle, past
-
transacting
present participle
verb
Synonym Usage
See perform.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
transactsimple
-
transactssimple
-
have transactedperfect
-
has transactedperfect
-
am transactingprogressive
-
are transactingprogressive
-
is transactingprogressive
-
have been transactingperfect progressive
-
has been transactingperfect progressive
Past
-
transactedsimple
-
had transactedperfect
-
was transactingprogressive
-
were transactingprogressive
-
had been transactingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of transact
First recorded in 1575–85; from Latin trānsāctus (past participle of trānsigere “to carry out, accomplish”), equivalent to trāns- “across, beyond, through” + ag(ere) “to drive, lead” + -tus past participle suffix; see trans-
Explanation
The verb transact is almost always used with the word "business." To transact business is to conduct it, as when a shopkeeper sells groceries to a customer. All kinds of business owners and workers transact business, just by following their usual routines of selling, buying, investing, trading, or anything else they do to carry out their work. Shoppers also participate in transacting business — a purchase can also be called a transaction. The Latin root word, transactus, means "to drive through or accomplish."
Vocabulary lists containing transact
Power Prefix: trans-
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Florida's B.E.S.T. Common Prefixes: trans-
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trans-
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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:
Fashion specialists tried to add more ways to transact, giving sellers more checks and balances and adding delivery and payment methods to help buyers feel safe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026
In addition, it raises red flags that Treasury is worried something is wrong and Bessent is worried about letting investors transact in the Treasury market, he added.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
Google Pay and PhonePe can fight fiercely for customers while still allowing their users to transact across the same network.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Countermeasures include visa denials and expulsion for foreign nationals, seizure of their assets in China and restrictions on their ability to transact with Chinese counterparts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
“Two or three hours, at least,” said Dr. Trefusis, “to transact their business.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the agency, threatening penalties for any shipper that transacts with it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 8, 2026
That could jeopardize a trading relationship worth some $300 billion a year, just slightly less than Japan transacts with the U.S.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
“We are hearing that we are not just clients or countries that one transacts with, we want to be partners, and that’s certainly the spirit with which we are engaging them,” he said.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2022
But it still transacts based on those stories, based on what it could become, based on what it intends to do, based on what it, in theory, might do in the future.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2022
The solicitor takes the case and transacts all the business connected with it.
From Bidwell's Travels, from Wall Street to London Prison Fifteen Years in Solitude by Austin Bidwell
The U.S. is able to stop countries from paying Iran for oil because almost all global oil deals are transacted in dollars.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
A huge portion of such fraud is transacted in cryptocurrency.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2025
It was a pay-as-you-go operation transacted in US dollars.
From BBC ● Nov. 21, 2023
The majority of CLO deals are transacted in over the counter trading.
From Reuters ● Nov. 18, 2022
The festival is in some ways like any other kind of conference, in that awards presentations, schedule changes, and various other routine business matters are transacted at a lectern on the stage.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
There were 59 million monthly transacting active users for Cash App in the month of June.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 5, 2026
While agricultural goods were exempt from the blockade, many shippers were unwilling to deliver them given the potential legal risks of transacting with Iran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
She is accused of breaching US sanctions against Iran, which prohibit US persons from transacting or dealing in Iranian goods or services without authorisation.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
If there are enough buyers and sellers transacting, that market is efficient.
From Salon ● Jan. 7, 2025
Fees paid to the bank for transacting business, ib.
From An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Germain Garnier
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.
