transform

[ verb trans-fawrm; noun trans-fawrm ]
See synonyms for: transformtransformedtransformingtransforms on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to change in form, appearance, or structure; metamorphose.

  2. to change in condition, nature, or character; convert.

  1. to change into another substance; transmute.

  2. Electricity.

    • to increase or decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of an alternating-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.

    • to decrease (the voltage and current characteristics of a direct-current circuit), as by means of a transformer.

  3. Mathematics. to change the form of (a figure, expression, etc.) without in general changing the value.

  4. Physics. to change into another form of energy.

verb (used without object)
  1. to undergo a change in form, appearance, or character; become transformed.

noun
  1. Mathematics.

    • a mathematical quantity obtained from a given quantity by an algebraic, geometric, or functional transformation.

    • the transformation itself.

  2. the result of a transformation.

  1. a transformation.

  2. Linguistics. a structure derived by a transformation.

Origin of transform

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English transformen, from Latin trānsfōrmāre “to change in shape”; see trans-, form

synonym study For transform

1. Transform , convert mean to change one thing into another. Transform suggests changing from one form, appearance, structure, or type to another: to transform soybeans into oil and meal by pressure. Convert suggests so changing the characteristics as to change the use or purpose: to convert a barn into a house.

Other words for transform

Other words from transform

  • trans·form·a·ble, adjective
  • trans·form·a·tive, adjective
  • in·ter·trans·form·a·ble, adjective
  • non·trans·form·ing, adjective
  • re·trans·form, verb (used with object)
  • self-trans·formed, adjective
  • un·trans·form·a·ble, adjective
  • un·trans·formed, adjective
  • un·trans·form·ing, adjective

Words Nearby transform

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use transform in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for transform

transform

verb(trænsˈfɔːm)
  1. to alter or be altered radically in form, function, etc

  2. (tr) to convert (one form of energy) to another form

  1. (tr) maths to change the form of (an equation, expression, etc) by a mathematical transformation

  2. (tr) to increase or decrease (an alternating current or voltage) using a transformer

noun(ˈtrænsˌfɔːm)
  1. maths the result of a mathematical transformation, esp (of a matrix or an element of a group) another related to the given one by B = X –1 AX for some appropriate X

Origin of transform

1
C14: from Latin transformāre, from trans- + formāre to form

Derived forms of transform

  • transformable, adjective
  • transformative, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012