transition Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun the act of passing from one state or place to the next
    passage.
  2. noun an event that results in a transformation
    conversion; changeover.
  3. noun a change from one place or state or subject or stage to another
  4. noun a musical passage moving from one key to another
    modulation.
  5. noun a passage that connects a topic to one that follows
  6. verb cause to convert or undergo a transition
    • the company had to transition the old practices to modern technology
  7. verb make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)
    • The airline transitioned to more fuel-efficient jets
    • The adagio transitioned into an allegro

WordNet

Tran*si"tion noun
Etymology
L. transitio: cf. F. transition. See Transient.
Definitions
  1. Passage from one place or state to another; charge; as, the transition of the weather from hot to cold.
    There is no death, what seems so is transition. Longfellow.
  2. (Mus.) A direct or indirect passing from one key to another; a modulation.
  3. (Rhet.) A passing from one subject to another.
    [He] with transition sweet, new speech resumes. Milton.
  4. (Biol.) Change from one form to another. ✍ This word is sometimes pronounced tran*sish"un; but according to Walker, Smart, and most other authorities, the customary and preferable pronunciation is tran*sizh"un, although this latter mode violates analogy. Other authorities say tran*zish"un.

Webster 1913