transplant

American  

[trans-plant, -plahnt, trans-plant, -plahnt] / trænsˈplænt, -ˈplɑnt, ˈtrænsˌplænt, -ˌplɑnt /

verb (used with object)

• transplants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transplanted,
  past participle,  past
• transplanting
  present participle

1. to remove (a plant) from one place and plant it in another.

2. Surgery. to transfer (an organ, tissue, etc.) from one part of the body to another or from one person or animal to another.

3. to move from one place to another.

4. to bring (a family, colony, etc.) from one country, region, etc., to another for settlement; relocate.

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verb (used without object)

• transplants,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transplanted,
  past participle,  past
• transplanting
  present participle

1. to undergo or accept transplanting.

   to transplant easily.

noun

• transplants
  plural

1. the act or process of transplanting.

2. a plant, organ, person, etc., that has been transplanted.

transplant British  

verb

1. (tr) to remove or transfer (esp a plant) from one place to another

2. (intr) to be capable of being transplanted

3. surgery to transfer (an organ or tissue) from one part of the body to another or from one person or animal to another during a grafting or transplant operation

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noun

1. surgery

   1. the procedure involved in such a transfer

   2. the organ or tissue transplanted

transplant Scientific  

/ trăns′plănt′ /

1. A plant that has been uprooted and replanted.

2. A surgical procedure in a human or animal in which a body tissue or organ is transferred from a donor to a recipient or from one part of the body to another. Heart, lung, liver, kidney, corneal, and bone-marrow transplants are performed to treat life-threatening illness. Donated tissue must be histocompatible with that of the recipient to prevent immunological rejection.

3. See also graft

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• retransplantation
  noun
• transplantation
  noun
• transplanter
  noun
• retransplant
  verb (used with object)
• transplantable
  adjective
• untransplanted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• transplants
  plural

Participles

• transplanting
  present
• transplanted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• transplant
  simple
• transplants
  simple
• have transplanted
  perfect
• has transplanted
  perfect
• am transplanting
  progressive
• are transplanting
  progressive
• is transplanting
  progressive
• have been transplanting
  perfect progressive
• has been transplanting
  perfect progressive

Past

• transplanted
  simple
• had transplanted
  perfect
• was transplanting
  progressive
• were transplanting
  progressive
• had been transplanting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will transplant
  simple
• will have transplanted
  perfect
• will be transplanting
  progressive
• will have been transplanting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of transplant

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin trānsplantāre, equivalent to Latin trāns- trans- + plantāre to plant

Explanation

Use the verb transplant to describe what you do when you move a cactus into a bigger container, or what a doctor does when she places a donor organ — like a kidney or lung — into the body of a patient. When you transplant your favorite rose bush, you carefully dig it up and re-plant it in another spot in the yard, maybe one that gets more sunlight. You can also use the word as a noun to describe the act of doing such a thing: "The liver transplant was a success." The word's origin is simple: the Latin trans, or "across," plus plantare, which means "to plant."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transplant transplants transplanted transplanting

Williamson underwent a liver transplant earlier this year, prompting a judge to delay a February hearing in her case.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

For more than a decade, Bhatia's laboratory has investigated ways to restore hepatocyte activity without requiring patients to undergo a surgical liver transplant.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

For decades, the wider area of Williamsburg has held a major cultural fascination for the type of millennial transplant who makes their way out to the East Coast.

From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026

The team at Mass General Brigham hospital say their work shows pig organs can be used as a "bridge" until a human transplant becomes available.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

“I wish we could transplant some of your common sense to your brother.”

From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull

Emery said some of her 40-something patients are now on the list for double lung transplants, their only real hope of survival.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

"NHS England is leading a programme of work which is already helping to increase the number of transplants, reduce variation, identify suitable patients earlier and improve access," it added.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

One factor fuelling outsider interest in Bozeman, according to many, was the "Yellowstone Effect" – transplants drawn to the state by the fictitious runaway hit drama Yellowstone, starring Kevin Costner.

From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026

Baja transplants seem to come in all types, including contributors, land grabbers and gentrifiers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 27, 2026

It’s illegal to sell human organs and tissues for transplants or medical treatments, but it’s perfectly legal to give them away while charging fees for collecting and processing them.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

Blood vessels gradually grew into the graft, creating a local supply of nutrients that helped keep the transplanted hepatocytes alive and functioning.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

A kidney transplanted from a pig has worked inside a patient for 271 days – the longest on record, say US doctors.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

The feat followed trial and error that initially saw him mollycoddle corals in stress-free environments, but those easily perished in the ocean once transplanted.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Based on a 1998 Vibe magazine article about street racing import cars in New York, the film was transplanted to Southern California.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026

He was the only mushroom in the garden who had not been transplanted, the only one who truly belonged exactly where he was.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Clutching a mysterious tool the shape of a mouse coffin, Firth’s villain tracks Daniel’s location by mentally transplanting himself into another person’s body, changing the color of their pupils to his own icy blue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

In practice, he argues, many innovations grow out of existing ones, often by borrowing or transplanting concepts from one field to another.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026

They carefully accounted for the challenges of transplanting two organs at once, including differences in blood volume needs and electrolyte management during the operation.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 19, 2025

A living donor liver transplant involves removing a section of liver from the donor and transplanting it into the recipient.

From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025

But he and Baachan performed their own small ceremony every spring before the transplanting.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• emigrate
• graft
• immigrate
• remove
• uproot