What does transmitted mean?
Transmitted is the past tense and past participle of transmit, meaning sent, conveyed, or communicated from one person, place, or system to another. It is especially frequent in technical language involving radio signals, data, electricity, sound, and light, as well as in discussions of diseases passed between people or organisms. The word can also describe information or characteristics passed from one generation to another. In ordinary conversation, alternatives such as sent, communicated, or passed on may sound more direct, but transmitted conveys a sense of movement through a system or medium. It can also suggest deliberate broadcasting toward a wide audience, whether through telecommunications, the press, or digital networks. The word is grammatically versatile: besides serving as a verb form, it functions as an adjective in phrases such as “a transmitted signal.”
Sent, conveyed, or communicated from one person, place, or system to another; passed through a medium or from one organism or generation to another.
"The station transmitted the emergency alert to every radio in the area."
This is the past tense and past participle of transmit.
Conveyed through a system or medium, as a signal, message, or piece of data; communicated or passed on from one source to another.
"The transmitted signal was too weak to produce a clear recording."
This participial use is especially common in technical and scientific language.
A Wi-Fi signal may travel invisibly across a room, while genetic information can be transmitted across generations.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does transmitted come from?
Transmitted ultimately comes from the Latin verb transmittere, formed from the prefix trans-, meaning “across,” and mittere, meaning “to send.” English acquired the root verb transmit in the late medieval period, with transmitted becoming its conventional past tense and past participle. The same Latin foundation produced transmission and transmitter, while cognates in other Romance languages reflect the shared idea of sending across.
How transmitted is actually used
The word is formal and especially common in technical, scientific, and media contexts. It can sound impersonal or procedural, as in “transmitted data,” while less technical situations often favor “sent” or “passed on.”
Easily confused with transmitted
Transmitted means conveyed through a system or medium, whereas transferred means moved or assigned from one person, place, or system to another.