Synonyms

transcribe

American

[tran-skrahyb] / trænˈskraɪb /

verb (used with object)

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

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

transcribe British

/ trænˈskraɪb /

verb

to write, type, or print out fully from speech, notes, etc
to make a phonetic transcription of
to transliterate or translate
to make an electrical recording of (a programme or speech) for a later broadcast
music to rewrite (a piece of music) for an instrument or medium other than that originally intended; arrange
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
(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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of transcribe

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

Explanation

If someone asks you to transcribe something, they want you to listen to it and write down what was said, word for word. Speeches, interviews, and trials are often transcribed for records. From the Latin transcribere, which means “to copy, write over, or transfer,” the verb transcribe means just that: to write out a copy. You might want to transcribe a recording of an interview onto paper, or maybe you need to transcribe all the notes you collected from an important meeting. If you can remember that trans means “over” and that a scribe is a writer, you shouldn’t forget this word. Fun fact: to transcribe poorly is to transcribble.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing transcribe

The Write Stuff: Scrib, Script

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

The Westing Game

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

"Mother Tongue" by Amy Tan

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

transcribe transcribes transcribed transcribing

And at the French capital's Notre Dame Cathedral, an AI system has been trained to transcribe 14,600 Latin pages from the church's medieval archives -- a task not dissimilar to code-breaking.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Researchers at the University of California San Diego have now shown that one of biology's most important enzymes can accurately read and transcribe a much larger version containing eight genetic letters.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Apps that record or transcribe without any type of alert have taken off more recently.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

Grace Parsonage, English Heritage's assistant curator for the South East, said: "It's been a real treat to work through this remarkable collection, alongside our volunteers, to record and transcribe these messages from the past."

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

“Later this evening, transcribe it for better understanding.”

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson

By showing in molecular detail how RNA polymerase reads and transcribes non-natural DNA letters, the new research provides an important foundation for technologies built around expanded genetic codes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 5, 2026

Founded in 2018, Abridge provides so-called ambient-listening tech, which tunes in to the exchanges between doctor and patient and then transcribes the conversations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

Dr Mirsa-Sharp started using Heidi Health, a free AI-assisted medical transcription tool that listens and transcribes patient appointments, about four months ago and says it has made a big difference.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2025

A cell transcribes the ORF sequence into messenger RNA, which travels to cellular factories called ribosomes that assemble amino acid sequences into proteins.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 24, 2024

For example, English transcribes about 40 phonemes with a mere 26 letters.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

I discussed those questions with Gibney, and what they taught him about Musk and our penchant for enabling men like him, in a wide-ranging conversation transcribed below.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Now it has become a museum called Trent Park House of Secrets, which highlights the role of the team of German speakers, most of them Jewish refugees, who transcribed titbits from the prisoners' bugged conversations.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

Comer’s spokesperson said Bondi was allowed to sit for a transcribed interview, rather than a deposition, because the former attorney general was “cooperative.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026

“The Lost Book of Elizabeth Barton” is a vivid and erudite reimagining of Barton’s life encased within a present-day murder mystery that revolves around the discovery of a transcribed account of Barton’s visions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

Her hand moved in conjunction with her eyes, in unknown ways, just as it had that day in the bookstore when she’d transcribed her name in Bengali letters.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri

AI is also being used to build a huge, searchable collection of previously inaccessible sources on Jewish history and culture by transcribing 10 million pages of Hebrew manuscripts.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

Audio forensic expert Robert Maher assisted the Journal in transcribing audio of the arrest of Kenny Laynez.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

After years of recording and transcribing calls for my work as a journalist, I had gotten used to it.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026

RNA polymerase II, also called Pol II, is the enzyme responsible for transcribing protein-coding genes in eukaryotic cells.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 1, 2025

I clenched my teeth resolutely, determined not to be caught up in the play again, and set to work transcribing all that had slipped by me before.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

Get a word

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023