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I've searched on Google, however it was not useful really. Can you tell me what are the differences among "transit", "transmit", "transfer" and "transport"? A dictionary states that the 3 words (except "transit") all means :"to convey or move things from a place to another"

So "transit" seems to be different from the other three, doesn't it?

And do "transmit" and "transfer" have close meanings?

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  • Searching Google is not really a good idea. A real dictionary would be better. If that doesn't help, edit your question to show what you found, and explain why it doesn't help with what you want to know. Note that many dictionaries will also include example sentences, to expand on the formal definition, and there are lots more online dictionaries than just that one.
    – Andrew Leach
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 16:19
  • Sorry but this is the first time I've asked a question here so I don't know what to do to fit this site's scope. Can you help me?
    – zeebadee
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 16:39
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    We need you to do your research using the right tools (a dictionary, in this case). That may actually answer your question. If it doesn't, quote what you looked up and what you found, and explain how you are still confused. Currently, all that will happen is that people will quote a dictionary, which (a) you can look up for yourself (b) won't really help if it simply repeats what you already know because you haven't said what is unclear about what you found.
    – Andrew Leach
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 16:44
  • The "research" link in that post message leads to quite comprehensive help.
    – Andrew Leach
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 16:45
  • Is that OK? Did I do right?
    – zeebadee
    Commented Jan 20, 2017 at 17:33

2 Answers 2

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They all mean "to move something from one place to another", but each has a different general usage, depending on what is being moved.

"transmit" is most often used with information. ie "NASA is going to transmit data to the space shuttle."

"transfer" generally refers to something changing posession, especially in law. "The corporation is going to transfer its stock to a child company."

"transport" refers to shipping a physical item or person. "A bulletproof vehicle is used to transport the president."

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    How about "transit"? I think "transit" and "transport" can be confusing. There is a difference between them, isn't there?
    – user48134
    Commented Jan 21, 2017 at 1:52
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    During transmission, transference, and transport the things being moved are in transit. They are sent, then they are in transit, then they are received.
    – EllieK
    Commented Sep 29, 2021 at 20:28
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It can be very confusing because they all basically mean the same thing, but it's just a matter of preference and conventions, or in the case of IT, standards and protocols. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and it's a protocol used to transport segments of data between networks. It's also considered in the Transport layer of the TCP/IP networking model. The Application layer directly above the transport layer contains many protocols, one of which is HTTP or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. When data is being transmitted, we say the data is in transit. So we have seen the words transmission, transport, transfer, and transit all used and they all basically mean the same thing. You're moving something from one place to another or are in the process of doing so. It's just a matter of memorizing what terminology is used for what occasion. If English were not my native language, I would be easily confused. It is a mess to memorize.

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