transmit
Americanverb (used with object)
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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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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
Related Words
See carry.
Other Word Forms
- nontransmittible adjective
- pretransmit verb (used with object)
- retransmit verb (used with object)
- transmittable adjective
- transmittal noun
- transmittible adjective
- untransmitted adjective
Etymology
Origin of transmit
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English transmitten, from Latin trānsmittere “to send across,” from trāns- trans- + mittere “to send”
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.
De Zerbi is fiercely competitive and must transmit that into his players; easier said than done given the timid, defeatist nature of their performances this season.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
“It’s slow music, the lyrics transmit good feeling and it’s moody,” said frontman Gustavo Raya Garcia following the album’s release on March 26.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026
"These magnons can transmit information through a magnet without the need for charge transport," explains project leader Dr. Helmut Schultheiß from the Institute of Ion Beam Physics and Materials Research at HZDR.
From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026
As a result, commodity shocks can transmit to headline inflation more quickly than changes in the broader business cycle.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 17, 2026
“Sorry, madam. But you know we have many saboteurs who use strange gadgets to transmit to Nigeria. Vigilance is our watchword!”
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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.
