- 1 [transitive, intransitive] to express the meaning of speech or writing in a different language translate something (from something) (into something) He translated the letter into English. Her books have been translated into 24 languages. Can you help me translate this legal jargon into plain English? translate something (as something) ‘Suisse’ had been wrongly translated as ‘Sweden’. translate (from something) (into something) I don't speak Greek so Dina offered to translate for me. My work involves translating from German. Wordfinderlanguageaccent, alphabet, dialect, grammar, language, literacy, literature, pronunciation, translate, word Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbliterally, accurately, correctly, … verb + translateattempt to, try to, be difficult to, … prepositionas, for, from, … phraseswidely translated See full entry
- 2 [intransitive] to be changed from one language to another Most poetry does not translate well. translate as something The Welsh name translates as ‘Land's End’. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbliterally, accurately, correctly, … verb + translateattempt to, try to, be difficult to, … prepositionas, for, from, … phraseswidely translated See full entry
- 3[transitive, intransitive] to change something, or to be changed, into a different form translate something (into something) It's time to translate words into action. translate into something I hope all the hard work will translate into profits. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbwell, easily, readily, … verb + translateattempt to, try to, be difficult to, … prepositioninto phrasestranslate something into action, translate something into practice See full entry
- 4[transitive, intransitive] translate (something) (as something) to understand something in a particular way or give something a particular meaning synonym interpret the various words and gestures that we translate as love Word OriginMiddle English: from Latin translat- ‘carried across’, past participle of transferre, from trans- ‘across’ + ferre ‘to bear’.Extra examples ‘Tiramisu’ literally translates as ‘pull-me-up’. A small increase in local spending will translate into a big rise in council tax. Higher sales won’t necessarily translate into profits. I don’t speak Italian—can you translate for me? Teacher expectations do not automatically translate themselves into student results. The book has been translated from the Japanese by Livia Yamaguchi. The group attempts to translate these ideas into action. The lost trade revenue ultimately translated into job losses at home. The novel has been widely translated. The story translates well to the screen. The word ‘sensus’ can be translated as ‘feeling’. They tried to translate the theory into simple concepts. This word is difficult to translate. a Greek word variously translated as ‘summit’, ‘top’ and ‘finishing stroke’ an expression that is difficult to translate into English I’m not sure how well the American system would translate to a European context. It’s time to translate words into action. Most attempts to translate Shakespeare to the small screen are not successful. You need to translate your ideas into practice/your enthusiasm into success.
verb jump to other results
BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪt//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪt//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪt//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪt//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they translate BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪt//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪt//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪt//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪt//
he / she / it translates BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪts//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪts//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪts//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪts//
past simple translated BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪtɪd//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪtɪd//
past participle translated BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪtɪd//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪtɪd//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪtɪd//
-ing form translating BrE BrE//trænsˈleɪtɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//trænsˈleɪtɪŋ//; BrE BrE//trænzˈleɪtɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//trænzˈleɪtɪŋ//
Check pronunciation: translate
