1 . An automatic device that receives, amplifies, and retransmits a signal on a different frequency.
2. An automatic device that transmits a predetermined message in response to a predefined received signal.
Note: An example of transponders is in identification-friend-or-foe systems and air-traffic-control secondary radar (beacon radar) systems.
3. A receiver-transmitter that will generate a reply signal upon proper interrogation.
Source: from Federal Standard 1037C and from MIL-STD-188 and from the Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms