Meaning & use
teleport
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitive
To send a person or thing instantly from one place to another without moving through the space between.
Grammar: Takes an object: the machine teleported the crew to the ship.
Patterns
- teleport someone to something
- teleport something out of something
The captain asked the engineer to teleport the crew back to the ship.
In the game, you can teleport your character across the map.
If I could teleport my luggage home, I would.
verbintransitive
To travel in this instant way yourself.
Grammar: No object; often followed by to or away: the wizard teleported away.
Patterns
- teleport to something
- teleport away
The superhero can teleport to any place she has seen.
He vanished in a flash and teleported to the far side of the room.
verbintransitiveinformalhumorousfigurative
To arrive somewhere or finish a journey so quickly that it feels instant.
Grammar: Used humorously or figuratively with a place or time: I wish I could just teleport home.
Patterns
- teleport home
I wish I could teleport home after this long flight.
It felt like we teleported from winter to summer when we landed.
Word forms
| third person singular | teleports |
|---|---|
| past tense | teleported |
| past participle | teleported |
| -ing form | teleporting |
Common combinations
- teleport someone away
- The machine could teleport him away from danger.
- teleport instantly
- In the story, the spies teleport instantly between cities.
- teleport across the room
- She seemed to teleport across the room to catch the glass.
- learn to teleport
- Wizards in the book learn to teleport during their third year.
- teleport to a location
- Players can teleport to a location they have visited.
Synonyms and how they differ
- beam
- Beam is the informal science-fiction word, especially in space stories, for moving by a ray of light or energy.
- transport
- Transport means to move something by any means and does not imply that the trip is instant.
- warp
- Warp usually refers to bending space to travel faster than light, not to disappearing and reappearing.
- vanish
- Vanish means to disappear, with no sense of appearing somewhere else.
Word family
- teleportation noun
- the act or idea of moving instantly from place to place
- teleporter noun
- a device or person that teleports
Commonly confused: teleport or transport?
teleport vs transport
To transport something is to carry it over a distance through real space, while to teleport is to move without crossing the space between.
Practice
In the film, the heroine pressed a button and ____ to the far side of the galaxy in a blink.
Choose one answer.
Teleported means moving instantly, matching in a blink. The others describe ordinary, slower travel.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “teleport”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.