transmit

IPA/trænzˈmɪt/
KK[trænzmˈɪt]IPA/trænzˈmɪt/

transmit — verb

  • transmitpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • transmitshe / she / it
  • transmittedpast simple
  • transmitting-ing form

1. to send out signals, messages, or programmes by radio, television, or other elec

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to send out signals, messages, or programmes by radio, television, or other electronic means.

Example

The local radio station transmits news programmes from six in the morning until midnight.

transmit + signal / data / programme

Baraka attached the report to an email and transmitted it to the head office.

Common collocations
  • live
  • over the air
  • via satellite
  • through fibre-optic cables
  • in real time
Synonyms
  • broadcast

    more specific — implies sending to a wide, undefined audience via radio or TV

  • send

    more general and informal — covers letters, emails, and packages

  • relay

    implies receiving and then passing on a signal or message

Antonyms
  • receive

    the opposite action — to get signals or messages

Grammar Patterns

transmit + noun (signal / data / message)

transmit + to + place

Usage Note

Often used in passive constructions: 'signals are transmitted via satellite'. The subject is typically a device, station, or communication system rather than a person.

Common Mistakes

The lighthouse transmitted a beam of light across the bay.
The lighthouse sent out a beam of light across the bay.
'transmit' refers to electronic signals, not light beams from a lighthouse.

2. to spread an illness or infection from one living thing to another.

2.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to spread an illness or infection from one living thing to another.

Example

The nurse explained how the virus transmits through droplets in the air.

transmit + disease / virus / infection

Sivan stayed home from work to avoid transmitting her cold to colleagues at the office.

Common collocations
  • through direct contact
  • via bodily fluids
  • from mother to child
  • by insects
Synonyms
  • spread

    more general and common — does not specify the mechanism

  • pass on

    informal, typical in everyday speech

  • communicate

    formal; used in medical literature for disease transfer

Antonyms
  • contain

    to stop a disease from spreading further

Grammar Patterns

transmit + disease / virus / infection

transmit + through / via + route

Usage Note

More common in formal and medical writing than in everyday conversation, where 'pass on' or 'spread' is preferred. Often used with 'through', 'via', or 'by' to indicate the route of transmission.

Common Mistakes

He transmitted his cold to his roommate by coughing.
He passed his cold to his roommate by coughing.
'transmit' is correct but sounds overly formal in everyday speech; 'pass on' or 'spread' is more natural.

3. to make an emotion, mood, or quality that you feel spread to other people around

3.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to make an emotion, mood, or quality that you feel spread to other people around you.

Example

The coach's calm confidence transmitted to every player before the big match.

transmit + feeling / emotion / mood

Luca could sense the excitement transmitting from the audience to the performers on stage.

Common collocations
  • to others
  • from one person to another
  • unconsciously
Synonyms
  • communicate

    broader — includes verbal and non-verbal expression

  • pass on

    informal, common in everyday conversation

  • convey

    implies deliberate expression, often in speech or writing

Antonyms
  • suppress

    to hold back a feeling instead of letting it pass to others

Grammar Patterns

transmit + noun (enthusiasm / calm / nervousness)

transmit + to + person

Usage Note

Unlike senses 1 and 2, this sense often appears with reflexive 'itself' (e.g., 'nervousness transmits itself'). Distinguish from sense 2 — the object here is an emotion or quality, not a pathogen.

Common Mistakes

Her happiness transmitted to everyone at the party.
Her happiness spread to everyone at the party.
'transmit' for emotions sounds overly technical; 'spread', 'infect' (informal), or 'pass on' is more natural in everyday English.

4. when a material or substance lets heat, light, sound, or other kinds of energy m

4.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

when a material or substance lets heat, light, sound, or other kinds of energy move through it, it transmits them.

Example

Copper wires transmit electricity much better than rubber or plastic tubes.

transmit + light / heat / sound / electricity

The special glass in these windows transmits sunlight while blocking harmful ultraviolet rays.

Common collocations
  • through a medium
  • across a distance
  • efficiently
  • poorly
Synonyms
  • conduct

    more technical — standard for electricity and heat in physics

  • carry

    less formal; works for sound and signals

  • pass

    simpler and more general — 'glass passes light'

Antonyms
  • block

    to stop energy from passing through

  • absorb

    to take in energy instead of letting it through

Grammar Patterns

transmit + light / heat / sound / electricity

material + transmits + energy

Usage Note

The subject is the material or medium, not the energy itself ('Glass transmits light', not 'Light transmits glass'). In scientific writing 'conduct' is preferred for electricity and heat, while 'transmit' is broader and covers light, sound, and other energy forms.

Common Mistakes

The fan transmitted cool air across the room.
The fan blew cool air across the room.
'transmit' is used for forms of energy such as heat, light, and sound, not for moving air or other matter.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Transmit, broadcast, relay, send, and transfer all involve moving something from one point to another, but they differ in medium and scope. 'Transmit' is the broadest term — it covers electronic signals, diseases, emotions, and physical energy. 'Broadcast' is narrower, meaning to transmit to a wide, unspecified audience via radio or television. 'Relay' involves receiving and then passing on a signal or message, often as an intermediate step. 'Send' is the most general and informal, covering any kind of dispatch such as letters, emails, or packages. 'Transfer' focuses on moving something from one place or owner to another, often physically or between systems. For example, a news station transmits (or broadcasts) the evening news; a satellite relays that signal to other regions; you send a text to a friend; and you transfer a photo from your phone to your computer.

broadcast ↗relay ↗send ↗transfer ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • from one person to another
  • from one place to another
  • by means of

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

From Latin 'transmittere' — a combination of 'trans-' (across, beyond) and 'mittere' (to send, let go). The word entered English in the 15th century through French, first meaning simply 'to send across'. The scientific sense relating to energy passing through materials developed in the 17th and 18th centuries alongside the growth of physics. The sense of spreading disease became common in medical writing during the 19th century.