1. Restate (words) from one language into another language
   "I have to translate when my in-laws from Austria visit the U.S"; "He translates for the U.N";
   - interpret, render
    
2. Change from one form or medium into another
   "Braque translated collage into oil";
   - transform
    
3. Make sense of a language
   "She translates French";
   - understand, read, interpret
    
4. Express, as in simple and less technical language
   "Can you translate the instructions in this manual for a layman?"; "Is there a need to translate the psychiatrist's remarks?"
    
5. Be equivalent in effect
   "the growth in income translates into greater purchasing power"
    
6. Be translatable, or be translatable in a certain way
   "poetry often does not translate"; "Tolstoy's novels translate well into English"
    
7. (genetics) determine the amino-acid sequence of a protein during its synthesis by using information on the messenger RNA
   "The ribosome translates the genetic code into proteins"
    
8. Bring to a certain spiritual state
   "The meditation translated her into a state of bliss"
    
9. (geometry) change the position of (figures or bodies) in space without rotation
   "The architect translated the building design 20 feet to the east"
    
10. (physics) subject to movement in which every part of the body moves parallel to and the same distance as every other point on the body
    "The physicist translated the object along the x-axis"

Derived forms: translated, translates, translating

Type of: alter, ascertain, be, change, channel, channelise [Brit], channelize, determine, displace, equal, find, find out, ingeminate [archaic], iterate, modify, move, paraphrase, reiterate, repeat, rephrase, restate, retell, reword, transfer, transmit, understand

Encyclopedia: Translate