transposition
noun
trans·po·si·tion
ˌtran(t)s-pə-ˈzi-shən 
1
a
: an act, process, or instance of transposing or being transposed
b
: the transfer of a segment of DNA from one site to another in the genome
2
a
: the transfer of any term of an equation from one side over to the other side with a corresponding change of the sign
b
: a mathematical permutation or interchange of two letters or symbols
Examples of transposition in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In September 2017, Fulmer underwent ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow.
—
Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
Hell’s greatest feat, however, is a studied transposition of the infamous affair between the nineteenth-century French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud onto the lives of Vaughn and Wode.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Among these were melodic concepts like inversion (flipping a tune), transposition (shifting it up or down scales), retrograding (reversal), and translation (movement over time).
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2026
Hendriks did not pitch for the Red Sox again, eventually developing soreness in his right forearm that ultimately led to him undergoing ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow following the season.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for transposition
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Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2026
Hell’s greatest feat, however, is a studied transposition of the infamous affair between the nineteenth-century French poets Paul Verlaine and Arthur Rimbaud onto the lives of Vaughn and Wode.
—Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2026
Among these were melodic concepts like inversion (flipping a tune), transposition (shifting it up or down scales), retrograding (reversal), and translation (movement over time).
—Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2026
Hendriks did not pitch for the Red Sox again, eventually developing soreness in his right forearm that ultimately led to him undergoing ulnar nerve transposition surgery in his right elbow following the season.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 4 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for transposition
Cite this Entry
“Transposition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transposition. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
transposition
noun
trans·po·si·tion
ˌtran(t)s-pə-ˈzish-ən
: an act, process, or instance of transposing or being transposed: as
a
: the displacement of a viscus to a side opposite from that which it normally occupies
transposition of the heart
b
: the transfer of a segment of DNA from one site to another in the genome either between chromosomal sites or between an extrachromosomal site (as on a plasmid) and a chromosome
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