Word.ws English Dictionary

translate

Syllables: trans·late/tɹɑːnzˈleɪt//tɹænzˈleɪt/

translate verb: to change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.

Verb

translate (third-person singular simple present translates, present participle translating, simple past and past participle translated)

  1. (transitive) To change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
    • Hans translated my novel into Welsh.
    • [H]e [Theodore Beza] tranſlateth animam, a Carcaſe: (ſo calling our Sauiour Christes bodie, irreuerently, and wickedly) he tranſlateth infernum, graue.1583, William Fulke, “Hereticall Translation against Pvrgatorie, Limbvs Patrvm, Christs Descending Into Hel”, in A Defense of the Sincere and True Translations of the Holie Scriptures into the...
  2. (intransitive) To provide a translation of spoken words or written text in another language; to be, or be capable of being, rendered in another language.
    • Hans translated for us while we were in Marrakesh.
    • That idiom doesn’t really translate.
  3. (transitive) To express spoken words or written text in a different (often clearer or simpler) way in the same language; to paraphrase, to rephrase, to restate.
    • These works he [Oliver Goldsmith] produced without any elaborate research, by merely selecting, abridging, and translating into his own clear, pure, and flowing language, what he found in books well known to the world, but too bulky or too dry for boys and girls.1856 February, [Thomas Babington] Macaulay, “[Contributions to the Encyclopædia Britannica.] Oliver Goldsmith.”, in T[homas] F[lower] E[llis], editor, The Miscellaneous Writings and Speeches of Lord...
  4. (transitive) To change (something) from one form or medium to another.
    • The director faithfully translated their experiences to film.
    • [H]appy is your Grace / That can tranſlate the ſtubbornneſſe of fortune / Into ſo quiet and ſo ſweet a ſtile.c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount...
  5. (transitive) To rearrange (a song or music) in one genre into another.
    • If one were to chart the form of most film songs, translated into conventional terms used in Western music, one would likely see a structure that has an introduction and two or three stanzas: […]2015, Jayson Beaster-Jones, “Film Songs at the End of the Colonial Era and the Emergence of Filmi Style”, in Bollywood Sounds: The Cosmopolitan Mediations of Hindi Film Music, Oxford, Oxfordshire...
  6. (intransitive) To change, or be capable of being changed, from one form or medium to another.
    • Excellent writing does not necessarily translate well into film.
    • His sales experience translated well into his new job as a fund-raiser.
  7. (transitive) To generate a chain of amino acids based on the sequence of codons in an mRNA molecule.
    • All mRNAs are translated on the basis of consecutive groups of three bases, codons, being interpreted by the translational machinery […]. Many diverse proteins and RNAs are involved in the translation of mRNA. First is the mRNA itself, which is the template "read" and translated into a protein...2015, Erich Grotewold, Joseph Chappell, Elizabeth A[nne] Kellogg, “Translation of RNA”, in Plant Genes, Genomes and Genetics, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell, →ISBN, section 15.1...
  8. Senses relating to a change of position.
    1. (archaic, transitive) To move (something) from one place or position to another; to transfer.
      • Curſed be he which tranſlateth the bounds and dolles of his Neighbor.1559, “Injunctions Given by the Queens Majesty, Concerning both the Clergy and Laity, of This Realm, Published Anno Domini Mdlix. being the First Year of the Raign of Our Soveraign Lady Queen...
      • [H]e [David] Accuſeth not the King [Saul], but tranſlateth the fault wholly upon his Evil Miniſters; as the Iſraelites do in the like Caſe, Exod[us] 5. 16.1696, Matthew Poole, “I. Samuel. Chap. XXVI.”, in Sam[uel] Clark, Edward Veale, editors, Annotations upon the Holy Bible. […], 3rd edition, volume I, London: […] Thomas Parkhurst, […], →OCLC, note z...
    2. (archaic, transitive) To transfer the remains of a deceased person (such as a monarch or other important person) from one place to another; (specifically, Christianity) to transfer a holy relic from one shrine to another.
      • Not far from hence is the Church and Convent of the Dominicans, where in the Chapel of St. Catherine of Sienna, they shew her head, the rest of her body being translated to Rome.1644 November 3 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 25 October 1644]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition...
    3. (archaic, transitive) To transfer a bishop or other cleric from one post to another.
      • Iohn Fiſher Biſhop of Rocheſter, when the King [Henry VII of England] would have tranſlated him from that poore Biſhopricke to a better, he refuſed, saying: He would not forſake his poore little olde wife, with whom he had ſo long lived.1605, M. N. [pseudonym; William Camden], “Grave Speeches, and Wittie Apothegms of Woorthie Personages of This Realme in Former Times”, in Remaines of a Greater Worke, Concerning Britaine, […]...
      • One hall called Civil Law Hall or School, flouriſhed about this time (though in its buildings decayed) by the care of the learned and judicious Dr. Will[iam] Warham Principal or Moderator thereof; which he leaving this year (having before had ſeveral Deputies therein) becauſe of his preferment to...1792, Anthony à Wood, The History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford, […], volume I, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Gutch, →OCLC, page 661
    4. (archaic, transitive) Of a holy person or saint: to be assumed into or to rise to Heaven without bodily death; also (figurative) to die and go to Heaven.
      • By faith Enoch was tranſlated, that he ſhould not ſee death; and was not found, becauſe God had tranſlated him: For before his tranſlation he had this teſtimonie, that he pleaſed God.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Hebrews 11:5, column 2
      • He [Vitus Theodorus] was called to be a Paſtor at Norinberg, his own country, […] till it pleaſed God to put an end to his labors, by tranſlating him out of this vale of tears into his Everlaſting Kingdom, Anno Chriſti 1549.1654, Samuel Clark[e], “The Life of Vitus Theodorus, who Dyed Anno Christi 1549”, in The Marrow of Ecclesiastical History, […], 2nd edition, London: […] T. V. and are to be sold by William Roybould...
    5. (archaic, transitive) In Euclidean geometry: to transform (a geometric figure or space) by moving every point by the same distance in a given direction.
      • After translating this plane, parallel to the ground line, to the position n#95;1L#95;1r#95;1, these points appear at n#95;1 and r#95;1.1868, S[amuel] Edward Warren, “Removal of Practical Difficulties Arising from the Confusion of Projections and Perspectives”, in A Manual of Elementary Problems in the Linear Perspective of Form and...
    6. (archaic, transitive) To map (the axes in a coordinate system) to parallel axes in another coordinate system some distance away.
      • It is convenient at this point to translate the axis of the n dimensional space so that the origin of each axis occurs at its arithmetical mean.1957 April–June, Leo Marcus, “A Mathematical Tool in Industry: An Algorithm for Curve Fitting by the Method of Least Squares”, in John Bryant, editor, General Motors Engineering Journal, volume 4...
    7. (archaic, obsolete, transitive) To cause (a disease or something giving rise to a disease) to move from one body part to another, or (rare) between persons.
      • He [John Mackintosh] considers all the eruptions, even erysipelas, in the light of natural blisters, established by powers inherent in the constitution, which enable it to translate disease from the internal organs to the skin; […]1857, “Medicine—Surgery”, in William, Robert Chambers, editors, Chambers’s Information for the People, new edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott & Co., →OCLC, page 768, column 1
    8. (archaic, transitive) To subject (a body) to linear motion with no rotation.
      • Consider a collection of objects – perfectly elastic pool balls, perhaps – rattling around inside a closed, isolated container. We can translate the container and its contents through space, and the physics inside the container is unchanged.2004, Stephen Webb, “Symmetry”, in Out of this World: Colliding Universes, Branes, Strings, and Other Wild Ideas of Modern Physics, New York, N.Y.: Copernicus Books, Springer, in association with...
    9. (archaic, intransitive, transitive) Of a body: to be subjected to linear motion with no rotation.
      • If the ball were to hit the racket at its center of mass (CM) or balance point (which is usually in the throat of the racket), the racket recoil would be pure translation and there would be no rotation of the racket. Instead, if the ball were to hit in the center of the strung area, the racket...1987, Howard Brody, “The Sweet Spots of a Tennis Racket”, in Tennis Science for Tennis Players, Philadelphia, Pa.: University of Pennsylvania Press, →ISBN, page 25
      • Let us assume the gas molecule to be a structureless "billiard ball," translating in space and frequently colliding with the neighboring molecules.2015, Ethirajan Rathakrishnan, “High-temperature Flows”, in High Enthalpy Gas Dynamics, Singapore: John Wiley & Sons Singapore, →ISBN, section 4.10 (Kinetic Theory of Gases), page 109
  9. (obsolete, transitive) To entrance (“place in a trance”), to cause to lose recollection or sense.
    • William was translated by the blow to the head he received, being unable to speak for the next few minutes.
  10. (obsolete, slang, transitive) To repair (used shoes, boots or other clothing) for resale.
    • Boots and Shoes are not to be had, I am told, in sufficient quantity for the demand from the slop-shops, the "translators," and the second-hand dealers. Great quantities of second-hand boots and shoes are sent to Ireland to be "translated" there.1851, Henry Mayhew, London Labour and the London Poor, page 33

Noun

translate (plural translates)

  1. In Euclidean spaces: a set of points obtained by adding a given fixed vector to each point of a given set.
    • [F]ractions with a defining relation are nothing but linear orthogonal arrays or their translates.1999, A. S. Hedayat, N[eil] J[ames] A[lexander] Sloane, John Stufken, “Statistical Application of Orthogonal Arrays”, in Orthogonal Arrays: Theory and Applications (Springer Series in Statistics)...
    • If L is a vector space, a linear manifold (or affine subspace) in L is a subset which is a translate of a subspace M#92;subsetL, that is, a set F of the form x#95;0#43;M for some x#95;0#92;inL. [...] The dimension of a linear manifold is the dimension of the subspace of which it is a translate.1999, H[elmut] H[einrich] Schaefer, with M. P. Wolff, chapter I, in Topological Vector Spaces (Graduate Texts in Mathematics; 3), 2nd edition, New York, N.Y.; Berlin: Springer, →ISBN, section 4...

translate meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

translate in Hindi

to change spoken words or written text from one language to another
अनुवाद करना anuvād karnā, भाषान्तर करना bhāṣāntar karnā

translate in Tamil

to change spoken words or written text from one language to another
மொழிபெயர் moḻipeyar

translate in Marathi

to change spoken words or written text from one language to another
भाषांतर करणे bhāṣāntar karṇe, अनुवाद करणे anuvād karṇe

translate in Urdu

to change spoken words or written text from one language to another
ترجمہ کرنا tarjama karnā, انواد کرنا anuvād karnā
More languagesFewer languages
translate in Bengali
অনুবাদ করা onubad kora, তর্জমা করা torjoma kora
translate in Telugu
అనువదించండి, అనువాదం చేయండి
translate in Malayalam
തർജ്ജമ taṟjjama, മൊഴിമാറ്റം moḻimāṟṟaṁ, പരിഭാഷ paribhāṣa
translate in Kannada
ಭಾಷಾಂತರಿಸು, ಅನುವಾದಿಸು, ತರ್ಜುಮೆ ಮಾಡು, ನುಡಿಮಾರು
translate in Punjabi
ਅਨੁਵਾਦ ਕਰੋ, ਤਰਜਮਾ ਕਰੋ
translate in Gujarati
અનુવાદ કરો, ભાષાંતર કરો, અનુવાદિત કરો
translate in Odia
ଅନୁବାଦ କରନ୍ତୁ, ଅନୁବାଦ କର, ଅନୁବାଦ କରନ୍ତୁ |
translate in Sinhala
පෙරළනවා peraḷanawā
translate in Assamese
ভাঙনি কৰ bhaṅoni kor
translate in Nepali
अनुवाद गर्नुहोस्, अनुवाद गर्ने
translate in Pashto
ترجمه کول tarǰomá kawǝ́l, ژباړل žbāṛᶕl
translate in Tagalog
magsalin
translate in Arabic
تَرْجَمَ tarjama
translate in Malay
menterjemahkan
translate in Indonesian
terjemah, menerjemahkan, alih bahasa, mengalihbahasakan
translate in Persian
ترجمه کردن tarjome kardan, ترجمیدن
translate in Thai
แปล bplɛɛ
translate in Vietnamese
dịch, phiên dịch
translate in Myanmar
ယောဇနာ yau:ja.na, ပြန် pran
Kashmiri
تَرجُمہٕ کَرُن tarjumhụ karun

Examples of translate in a sentence

  • ‘Dog’ translates as ‘chien’ in French.
  • "Hence!" added the incensed monarch, "and be careful how thou translatest the work faithfully.1828, A[ugustus] B[ozzi] Granville, “Picture of St. Petersburgh”, in St. Petersburgh. A Journal of Travels to and from that Capital; […]...
  • When I was learning Spanish, I would often take my favorite songs and try to translate them.1997 September 13, Matt Cyr, “Saturday, September 13th [1997]”, in Something to Teach Me: Journal of an American in the Mountains of Haiti...
  • Its scientific name is “Daptolestes bronteflavus,” which is derived from Latin like most scientific names – and translates to “blond thunder.”2020 July 29, Jessie Yeung, “Australia names new species after Deadpool, Thor, and other Marvel favorites”, in CNN:
  • When perfection is achieved, the thrill of recognition in the audience fulfills local sensibilities, but translates poorly into academic discourse.1999, Karen L. Hero, “Missed Opportunities: American Anthropological Studies of Micronesian Arts”, in Robert C. Kiste, Mac Marshall...

All 40 example sentences with translate

Forms of translate

Verb
third-person singular presenttranslates
present participletranslating
past participletranslated
pasttranslated
second-person singular present (archaic)translatest
second-person singular past (archaic)translatedst
third-person singular present (archaic)translateth
Noun
pluraltranslates

Past tense of translate: translated

Origin of translate

From Middle English translaten (“to transport, translate, transform”), from Anglo-Norman translater, from Latin trānslātus, perfect passive participle of trānsferō (“to transport, carry across, translate”). See also -ate (verb-forming suffix). Distant doublet of transfer, see collate and confer, delate and defer, as well as prelate and prefer among others. In this sense, displaced Old English wendan (“to translate,” also the word for “to turn” and “to change”).

Words formed from translate

Words that rhyme with translate

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about translate

What does translate mean?
Translate means to change spoken words or written text (of a book, document, movie, etc.) from one language to another.
What is translate in Hindi?
Translate in Hindi is अनुवाद करना (anuvād karnā), भाषान्तर करना (bhāṣāntar karnā). See Translate meaning in Hindi.
How do you use translate in a sentence?
‘Dog’ translates as ‘chien’ in French.
What part of speech is translate?
Translate can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce translate?
Translate is pronounced /tɹɑːnzˈleɪt/ (UK).
What is the past tense of translate?
The past tense of translate is translated.

Words near translate in the dictionary

  1. translaryngeal
  2. translatabilities
  3. translatability
  4. translatable
  5. translatableness
  6. translate
  7. translateable
  8. translated
  9. translatedst
  10. translatee
  11. translatees

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: translate (page history and authors); translate (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); translate (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); translate (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); translate (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); translate (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); translate (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-to translate.ogg, En-us-translate.ogg.

Cite this entry: “translate.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/translate. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.