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⇱ transposition - WordReference.com Dictionary of English

transposition

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(trans′pə zish′ən)



WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
trans•po•si•tion  (trans′pə zish′ən),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. an act of transposing.
  2. the state of being transposed.
  3. a transposed form of something.
  4. [Genetics.]the movement of a gene or set of genes from one DNA site to another.
  5. [Photog.]the process of reversing the tonality of an image, as from negative to positive.
  6. [Math.]a permutation of a set of elements that interchanges two elements and leaves the remaining elements in their original positions.
  • Medieval Latin trānspositiōn- (stem of trānspositiō). See trans-, position
  • 1530–40;

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
transposition /ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən/ n
  1. the act of transposing or the state of being transposed
  2. something transposed
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
trans•pose /trænsˈpoʊz/USA pronunciation   v., -posed, -pos•ing. 
  1. to change or reverse the relative position of; interchange:[~ + object]to transpose the third and fourth letters of a word.
  2. Music and Danceto write or perform (a musical composition) in a different key: [~ + object]to transpose the song so she could sing it more easily.[no object]He could transpose at sight.
trans•po•si•tion /ˌtrænspəˈzɪʃən/USA pronunciation  n. [countable]: transpositions of letters to make up a code.[uncountable]: the use of transposition in building a code.See -pos-.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
trans•pose  (v. trans pōz′;n. trans′pōz),USA pronunciation v., -posed, -pos•ing, n. 
v.t. 
    1. to change the relative position, order, or sequence of;
      cause to change places;
      interchange:to transpose the third and fourth letters of a word.
    2. to transfer or transport.
    3. [Algebra.]to bring (a term) from one side of an equation to the other, with corresponding change of sign.
    4. Mathematics(of a matrix) to interchange rows and columns.
    5. [Music.]to reproduce in a different key, by raising or lowering in pitch.
    6. to transform;
      transmute.

    v.i. 
    1. to perform a piece of music in a key other than the one in which it is written:to transpose at sight.

    n. 
    1. [Math.]a matrix formed from a given matrix by transposing.
    • Middle French transposer. See trans-, pose1
    • Middle English transposen to transmute 1350–1400
    trans•pos ′a•ble, adj. 
    trans•pos′a•bil ′i•ty, n. 
    trans•pos ′er, n. 
      1. 5. rearrange. 3. invert.
'transposition' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
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