transcripts

IPA/ˈtræn.skrɪpt/
KK[trˈænskrˌɪpts]IPA/ˈtræn.skrɪpt/

transcripts — noun

  • transcriptssingular
  • transcriptsesplural

1. a written version of words that were originally spoken, created by writing them

1.nounB1
Definition

a written version of words that were originally spoken, created by writing them down exactly as they were said, for example from a conversation, speech, court hearing, or recorded interview

Example

The court reporter prepared transcripts of the witness's testimony for the judge.

collocation: court transcripts / testimony

Defne read the podcast transcripts because she needed the exact wording of the interview.

transcripts of + recorded media (podcast)

Common collocations
  • court transcripts
  • interview transcripts
  • meeting transcripts
  • podcast transcripts
  • trial transcripts
  • lecture transcripts
  • prepare transcripts
  • review transcripts
  • publish transcripts
  • read transcripts
Synonyms
  • transcription

    Can refer to either the process or the result; 'transcript' always refers only to the written result

  • written record

    More general — any documented information; a transcript is one specific type of written record

  • copy

    Very broad; a transcript is a copy produced by writing down spoken language, not just any duplicate

Grammar Patterns

transcripts of + noun (speech event / recording)

transcripts + verb (are/were published/posted)

Usage Note

Commonly used with nouns of speech or recording (testimony, interview, lecture, podcast). The singular form 'transcript' is equally frequent — use it when referring to one written copy.

Common Mistakes

The transcription of the interview was fifty pages long.
The transcript of the interview was fifty pages long.
'Transcription' usually refers to the process of writing down spoken words, while 'transcript' is the finished written result.
I sent the transcript of the book to the publisher.
I sent a copy of the book to the publisher.
A transcript is specifically a written version of spoken words, not a duplicate of an existing written document.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Transcript' and 'transcription' are closely related but not interchangeable: a transcript is the finished written document, while transcription can refer to the process of creating it ('The transcription took three hours') as well as the result. 'Written record' is a much broader category that includes transcripts, notes, reports, and any other documented information. 'Minutes' refers specifically to a written summary of what happened at a formal meeting — minutes condense and summarise, whereas a transcript captures every word exactly as spoken. For example, a company secretary writes minutes of a board meeting, but a court reporter produces a transcript of a trial.

transcript ↗transcription ↗written recordminutes ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • transcripts of proceedings
  • transcripts of testimony
  • transcripts of evidence

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'transcriptum', meaning 'something copied across', from the verb 'transcribere' (to copy by rewriting). The word entered English through French in the 14th century and originally referred to any copied document before narrowing to the modern meaning of a written copy of spoken words.

First known use

15th century

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a