transcribe

verb

tran·​scribe tran(t)-ˈskrīb 

transcribed; transcribing

transitive verb

1

a

: to make a written copy of

b

: to make a copy of (dictated or recorded matter) in longhand or on a machine (such as a typewriter)

c

: to paraphrase or summarize in writing

d

: write down, record

2

a

: to represent (speech sounds) by means of phonetic symbols

b

: translate sense 1a

c

: to transfer (data) from one recording form to another

d

: to record (as on magnetic tape) for later broadcast

3

: to make a musical transcription of

4

: to cause (DNA or RNA) to undergo genetic transcription

transcriber noun

Examples of transcribe in a Sentence

He transcribed all of his great-grandfather's letters.

The senator's speech was transcribed.

a Mozart string quartet transcribed for piano

a system that allows linguists to transcribe the sounds of any language

Recent Examples on the Web

OpenAI and Google have both transcribed YouTube videos to train their AI models, the Times found, which could violate copyright laws. —Rachyl Jones, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024

Google has also transcribed YouTube videos to train its AI software, the Times reported. —Shira Ovide, Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2024

Voice recognition—the computer-science term for the ability of a machine to accurately transcribe what is being said—is improving rapidly thanks in part to recent advances in AI. —Caroline Mimbs Nyce, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024

The story opens on OpenAI which, desperate for training data, reportedly developed its Whisper audio transcription model to get over the hump, transcribing over a million hours of YouTube videos to train GPT-4, its most advanced large language model. —Wes Davis, The Verge, 6 Apr. 2024

OpenAI eventually made Whisper, the speech recognition tool, to transcribe YouTube videos and podcasts, six people said. —Nico Grant, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2024

The catalog also recently announced a new mission in collaboration with the National Park Service ahead of America's 250th birthday to transcribe the pension files of revolutionary war soldiers. —USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024

Assign someone to take minutes or use an AI tool to transcribe and compile themes and takeaways. —Lisa Conn, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024

Please note, there might be slight discrepancies due to the AI used to transcribe the conversation. —Katrina Michalak, The Arizona Republic, 20 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin transcribere, from trans- + scribere to write — more at scribe

First Known Use

1552, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

transcribe

verb

tran·​scribe tran(t)s-ˈkrīb 

transcribed; transcribing

1

a

: to make a written copy of

b

: to make a copy of (dictated or recorded matter) by hand or on a machine (as a typewriter)

2

: to represent speech sounds with phonetic symbols

transcriber noun

Medical Definition

transcribe

transitive verb

tran·​scribe tran(t)s-ˈkrīb 

transcribed; transcribing

: to cause (as DNA) to undergo genetic transcription