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transfer

Translate transfer | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of transfer

verb

(transfers, transferring, transferred)
  • 1move from one place to another: [with object]:he intends to transfer the fund’s assets to the Treasury [no object]:I went to sleep on the couch before transferring to my bedroom later in the night
  • move to another department, occupation, etc.: [no object]:she transferred to the Physics Department [with object]:employees have been transferred to the installation team
  • (in football and other sports) move to another team: [no object]:he transferred to the Brooklyn Dodgers [with object]:he was transferred to Arsenal for £750,000
  • [with object] redirect (a telephone call) to a new line or extension.
  • [with object] copy (a drawing or design) from one surface to another: drawings can be transferred to the artwork by rubbing them off the sheet
  • [with object] copy (data, music, etc.) from one medium or device to another:the new product lets users transfer data from palmtop to desktop with a click of the mouse
  • 2 [no object] change to another place, route, or means of transport during a journey:passengers have to transfer at Heathrow for onward international flights
  • 3 [with object] make over the possession of (property, a right, or a responsibility) to another: we will transfer full planning responsibility to local authorities
  • 4 [with object] (usually as adjective transferred) change (the sense of a word or phrase) by extension or metaphor:a transferred use of the Old English noun

noun

  • 1an act of moving something or someone to another place, organization, team, etc.:a transfer of wealth to the EU’s poorer nations she asked her boss for a transfer to the city [mass noun]:a patient had died after transfer from the County Hospital to St Peter’s
  • a conveyance of property, especially stocks and shares, from one person to another: the transfer of assets from wealthy individuals to family members
  • [mass noun] the action of copying data from one medium or device to another: data transfer between different manufacturers' drives
  • 2British a small coloured picture or design on paper, which can be transferred to another surface by being pressed or heated:T-shirts with iron-on transfers
  • 3an act of changing to another place, route, or means of transport during a journey:bus transfers between the airport and the city centre cost about £11
  • North American a ticket allowing a passenger to change from one public transport vehicle to another as part of a single journey: you get a transfer, you have to get that train

Derivatives

transferee

Pronunciation: /-ˈriː/
noun

transferor

Pronunciation: /-ˈfəːrə/
noun (chiefly Law)

transferrer

Pronunciation: /-ˈfəːrə/
noun

Origin:

late Middle English (as a verb): from French transférer or Latin transferre, from trans- 'across' + ferre 'to bear'. The earliest use of the noun (late 17th century) was as a legal term in the sense 'conveyance of property'

Spelling rule

If a verb ends with a single vowel plus a consonant, and the stress is at the end of the word (as in refer), double the last letter when adding -ing or -ed: ( transfers, transferring, transferred).

transfer in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of transfer in the US English dictionary
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