transcribe

[ tran-skrahyb ]

verb (used with object)

, tran·scribed, tran·scrib·ing.

1. to make a written copy, especially a typewritten copy, of (dictated material, notes taken during a lecture, or other spoken material).
2. to make an exact copy of (a document, text, etc.).
3. to write out in another language or alphabet; translate or transliterate:

   to transcribe Chinese into English characters.

4. Phonetics. to represent (speech sounds) in written phonetic or phonemic symbols.
5. Radio. to make a recording of (a program, announcement, etc.) for broadcasting.
6. Music. to arrange (a composition) for a medium other than that for which it was originally written.
7. Genetics. to effect genetic transcription of (a DNA molecule template).

transcribe

/ trænˈskraɪb /

verb

1. to write, type, or print out fully from speech, notes, etc
2. to make a phonetic transcription of
3. to transliterate or translate
4. to make an electrical recording of (a programme or speech) for a later broadcast
5. music to rewrite (a piece of music) for an instrument or medium other than that originally intended; arrange
6. computing
   1. to transfer (information) from one storage device, such as punched cards, to another, such as magnetic tape
   2. to transfer (information) from a computer to an external storage device
7. usually passive biochem to convert the genetic information in (a strand of DNA) into a strand of RNA, esp messenger RNA See also genetic code translate

Derived Forms

• tranˈscriber, noun
• tranˈscribable, adjective

Other Words From

• tran·scriber noun
• mistran·scribe verb (used with object) mistranscribed mistranscribing
• nontran·scribing adjective
• pretran·scribe verb (used with object) pretranscribed pretranscribing
• retran·scribe verb (used with object) retranscribed retranscribing
• untran·scribed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of transcribe¹

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin trānscrībere “to copy off,” literally, “to write across,” from trāns- trans- + scrībere “to write” ( scribe ¹ )

Word History and Origins

Origin of transcribe¹

C16: from Latin transcrībere , from trans- + scrībere to write

Example Sentences

These initiation sites contain regulatory elements and provide information to the cell about when and where to transcribe each gene to make protein, and how frequently to do so at any point in time.

From Science Daily

Audio is transcribed and in some cases translated, before feeding into the kinds of information that are made available on the devices.

From BBC

He would shake hands with the entire crew if the interview was on camera, and there would often be an embrace for the stenographers busily transcribing his thoughts.

From BBC

When I write for tuba, I sing all of the melodic parts and I transcribe them maybe three or four octaves down.

From Los Angeles Times

After recording the interview, I transcribed it in full:

From Salon

Related Words

• decipher
• duplicate
• interpret
• reprint
• reproduce
• rewrite
• translate
• write out