translate

[trans-leyt, tranz-, trans-leyt, tranz-]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR translate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

to turn from one language into another or from a foreign language into one's own: to translate Spanish.

to change the form, condition, nature, etc., of; transform; convert: to translate wishes into deeds.

to explain in terms that can be more easily understood; interpret.

to bear, carry, or move from one place, position, etc., to another; transfer.

Mechanics. to cause (a body) to move without rotation or angular displacement; subject to translation.

Computers. to convert (a program, data, code, etc.) from one form to another: to translate a FORTRAN program into assembly language.

Telegraphy. to retransmit or forward (a message), as by a relay.

Ecclesiastical.

to move (a bishop) from one see to another.
to move (a see) from one place to another.
to move (relics) from one place to another.

to convey or remove to heaven without natural death.

Mathematics. to perform a translation on (a set, function, etc.).

to express the value of (a currency) in a foreign currency by applying the exchange rate.

to exalt in spiritual or emotional ecstasy; enrapture.

verb (used without object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

to provide or make a translation; act as translator.

to admit of translation: The Greek expression does not translate easily into English.

Nearby words

Origin of translate

1250–1300; Middle English translaten < Latin trānslātus (past participle of trānsferre to transfer), equivalent to trāns- trans- + -lātus (suppletive past participle of ferre to bear¹), earlier *tlātus, equivalent to *tlā- bear (akin to thole²) + -tus past participle suffix

Related forms

trans·lat·a·ble, adjectivetrans·lat·a·bil·i·ty, trans·lat·a·ble·ness, nounhalf-trans·lat·ed, adjectivein·ter·trans·lat·a·ble, adjective

pre·trans·late, verb (used with object), pre·trans·lat·ed, pre·trans·lat·ing.re·trans·late, verb (used with object), re·trans·lat·ed, re·trans·lat·ing.un·trans·lat·a·bil·i·ty, nounun·trans·lat·a·ble, adjectiveun·trans·lat·ed, adjectivewell-trans·lat·ed, adjective

Can be confusedtranslate transliterate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for translate

Do they have a plan for how to translate a ceasefire into something more durable?
Local Truces Are Syria’s Sad Little Pieces of Peace|Joshua Hersh|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Or translate an interview maybe because I do like to translate things.
The Kardashian Look-Alike Trolling for Assad|Noah Shachtman, Michael Kennedy|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Of course, deep innovations only translate into revenue if they can go to global markets effectively.
The Latest in High-Tech Chips||September 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This allows news reporters to translate whatever is said by a Scot being interviewed into whatever will make the most news.
Up to a Point: A Free Scotland Would Be a Hilarious Disaster|P. J. O’Rourke|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Asian slapstick humor does not translate well, and most of the captive audience agreed, although they grudgingly watched it.
Prisoners Get Cultural Fix with 8-Tracks and Bootleg Cassettes|Daniel Genis|August 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Morquil's aid was enlisted, to translate the text, and he learned some amazing facts.
Wanted--7 Fearless Engineers!|Warner Van Lorne
Wayne hesitated, partly to translate O'Reilly's rumblings and partly to marvel at an audacious idea taking shape in his mind.
High Dragon Bump|Don Thompson
It is, if our own experience be worth anything, excessively hard to translate.
British Quarterly Review, American Edition, Volume LIV|Various
I stared at this for a long time, and then swiftly withdrew, overcome with horror which I could not translate into words.
The Silent Isle|Arthur Christopher Benson
And I, who could read and translate French easily, had never found time to learn to chat freely in any language but my own.
Memories and Anecdotes|Kate Sanborn

British Dictionary definitions for translate

translate

verb

to express or be capable of being expressed in another language or dialecthe translated Shakespeare into Afrikaans; his books translate well

(intr) to act as translator

(tr) to express or explain in simple or less technical language

(tr) to interpret or infer the significance of (gestures, symbols, etc)

(tr) to transform or convertto translate hope into reality

(tr; usually passive) biochem to transform the molecular structure of (messenger RNA) into a polypeptide chain by means of the information stored in the genetic codeSee also transcribe (def. 7)

to move or carry from one place or position to another

(tr)

to transfer (a cleric) from one ecclesiastical office to another
to transfer (a see) from one place to another

(tr) RC Church to transfer (the body or the relics of a saint) from one resting place to another

(tr) theol to transfer (a person) from one place or plane of existence to another, as from earth to heaven

maths physics to move (a figure or body) laterally, without rotation, dilation, or angular displacement

(intr) (of an aircraft, missile, etc) to fly or move from one position to another

(tr) archaic to bring to a state of spiritual or emotional ecstasy

Derived Formstranslatable, adjectivetranslatability, noun

Word Origin for translate

C13: from Latin translātus transferred, carried over, from transferre to transfer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for translate

translate

c.1300, "to remove from one place to another," also "to turn from one language to another," from Latin translatus "carried over," serving as past participle of transferre "to bring over, carry over" (see transfer), from trans- (see trans-) + latus "borne, carried," from *tlatos, from PIE root *tel-, *tol- "to bear, carry" (see extol). Related: Translated; translating. A similar notion is behind the Old English word it replaced, awendan, from wendan "to turn, direct" (see wend).

Medicine definitions for translate

translate

[trăns-lāt′, trănz-, trăns′lāt′, trănz′-]

v.

To render in another language.

To put into simpler terms; explain or interpret.

To subject mRNA to translation.

Related formstrans•lat′a•bil′i•ty n.trans•lat′a•ble adj.

translate

verb (used with object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

verb (used without object), trans·lat·ed, trans·lat·ing.

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Origin of translate

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translate

verb

Word Origin for translate

translate

translate

v.