transponder

or tran·spon·dor

[ tran-spon-der ]

noun
  1. a radio, radar, or sonar transceiver that automatically transmits a signal upon reception of a designated incoming signal.

Origin of transponder

1
First recorded in 1940–45; trans(mitter) + (res)ponder

Words Nearby transponder

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How to use transponder in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for transponder

transponder

transpondor

/ (trænˈspɒndə) /


noun
  1. a type of radio or radar transmitter-receiver that transmits signals automatically when it receives predetermined signals

  2. the receiver and transmitter in a communications or broadcast satellite, relaying received signals back to earth

Origin of transponder

1
C20: from transmitter + responder

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

Scientific definitions for transponder

transponder

[ trăn-spŏndər ]


  1. A radio or radar transmitter and receiver that responds to an incoming signal either by broadcasting its own predetermined signal (as in aircraft identification systems) or by relaying the incoming signal at a different frequency (as in satellite communications).

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.