transplant

1 of 2

verb

trans·​plant ˌtran(t)s-ˈplant 

transplanted; transplanting; transplants

transitive verb

1

: to lift and reset (a plant) in another soil or situation

2

: to remove from one place or context and settle or introduce elsewhere : relocate

3

: to transfer (an organ or tissue) from one part or individual to another

intransitive verb

: to tolerate being transplanted

does not transplant as well as other varieties

transplantability

ˌtran(t)s-ˌplan-tə-ˈbi-lə-tē 

noun

transplantable

tran(t)s-ˈplan-tə-bəl 

adjective

transplantation

ˌtran(t)s-ˌplan-ˈtā-shən 

noun

transplanter

tran(t)s-ˈplan-tər 

noun

transplant

2 of 2

noun

trans·​plant ˈtran(t)s-ˌplant 

1

a

: a person or thing that is transplanted

b

: a manufacturing plant set up locally by a foreign automobile company to save on shipping costs

bumpers shipped to a Japanese transplant in the U.S.

2

: the act or process of transplanting

Examples of transplant in a Sentence

Verb

She carefully transplanted the seedlings.

The bush was transplanted to a different part of the garden.

Doctors transplanted one of his kidneys into his sister.

a recipient of a transplanted heart

The group transplanted the beavers to another part of the state.

She is a New Yorker who recently transplanted to the West Coast.

Noun

The heart transplant was successful.

He is going to need a liver transplant.

The doctors are trying to keep him alive until a liver can be found for transplant.

The patient's body rejected the transplant.

She received a bone marrow transplant from an unknown donor.

She's a Southern transplant who now lives in New York.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The agency has fashioned staging areas for heavy equipment by knocking down, uprooting and attempting to transplant select specimens of the monument’s native plants. — Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 2 Nov. 2026

One option would be to grow tissue grafts with the mesh inside and then transplant them, but a more interesting possibility would be to borrow an idea from Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company Neuralink. — Edd Gent, IEEE Spectrum, 29 Oct. 2026

Noun

Meanwhile Detective Lin, whose son needs a heart transplant, pegs Owen as the prime suspect in a string of murders in which the victims’ organs are removed. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Nov. 2026

There are 12 of us in total, mostly locals, a couple of newer transplants, and just one traveler. — Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Nov. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English transplaunten, from Late Latin transplantare, from Latin trans- + plantare to plant

First Known Use

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

1756, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for transplant

• decant
• descant
• eggplant
• enchant
• explant
• implant
• preplant
• recant
• replant
• supplant
• ant
• aunt

Kids Definition

transplant

1 of 2 verb

trans·​plant tran(t)s-ˈplant 

1

: to dig up and plant in another soil or situation

transplant seedlings

2

: to remove from one place and settle or introduce elsewhere

transplanted beavers to other parts of the state

a New Yorker transplanted to the West coast

3

: to transfer (an organ or tissue) from one part or individual to another

transplantation

ˌtran(t)s-ˌplan-ˈtā-shən 

noun

transplanter

tran(t)s-ˈplant-ər 

noun

transplant

2 of 2 noun

trans·​plant ˈtran(t)s-ˌplant 

1

: something or someone transplanted

2

: the act or process of transplanting

Medical Definition

transplant

1 of 2 transitive verb

trans·​plant tran(t)s-ˈplant 

: to transfer from one place to another

especially : to transfer (an organ or tissue) from one part or individual to another

transplant

2 of 2 noun

trans·​plant ˈtran(t)s-ˌplant 

1

: something (as an organ or part) that is transplanted

2

: the act or process of transplanting : transplantation

performed a kidney transplant