transpose

American  

[trans-pohz, trans-pohz] / trænsˈpoʊz, ˈtræns poʊz /

verb (used with object)

transposed, transposing

1. to change the relative position, order, or sequence of; cause to change places; interchange.

   to transpose the third and fourth letters of a word.

   Synonyms:

   rearrange

2. to transfer or transport.

3. Algebra. to bring (a term) from one side of an equation to the other, with corresponding change of sign.

   Synonyms:

   invert

4. Mathematics. (of a matrix) to interchange rows and columns.

5. Music. to reproduce in a different key, by raising or lowering in pitch.

   Synonyms:

   rearrange

6. to transform; transmute.

---

verb (used without object)

transposed, transposing

1. to perform a piece of music in a key other than the one in which it is written.

   to transpose at sight.

noun

1. Mathematics. a matrix formed from a given matrix by transposing.

transpose British  

/ trænsˈpəʊz /

verb

1. (tr) to alter the positions of; interchange, as words in a sentence; put into a different order

2. music

   1. to play (notes, music, etc) in a different key from that originally intended

   2. to move (a note or series of notes) upwards or downwards in pitch

3. (tr) maths to move (a term) from one side of an equation to the other with a corresponding reversal in sign

---

noun

1. maths the matrix resulting from interchanging the rows and columns of a given matrix

transpose Scientific  

/ trăns-pōz′ /

1. To move a term or quantity from one side of an algebraic equation to the other by adding or subtracting that term to or from both sides. By subtracting 2 from both sides of the equation 2 + x = 4, one can transpose the 2 to the other side, yielding x = 4 − 2, and thus determine that x equals 2.

---

Other Word Forms

• nontransposable adjective
• nontransposing adjective
• transposability noun
• transposable adjective
• transposal noun
• transposer noun
• untransposed adjective

Etymology

Origin of transpose

1350–1400; Middle English transposen to transmute < Middle French transposer. See trans-, pose ¹

Example Sentences

In Tyson Louie’s league, the loser has to pose for a portrait that members then transpose into a scene.

From The Wall Street Journal

She starts on plain lined sheets, then she transposes the keepers to “scalloped paper plates.”

From New York Times

“But our Giselle was transposed out of Austria to the bayous of Louisiana, so it made it relevant to us at the time.”

From New York Times

So I went in and I looked at the house and I walked around and looked at the patterns and colors Sarah put in there, and got those transposed from the wall to the dress.”

From Los Angeles Times

But there’s a risk in transposing the past to the present.

From Los Angeles Times