segue

1 of 3

imperative verb

se·gue ˈse-(ˌ)gwā

ˈsā-

: proceed to what follows without pause

—used as a direction in music

: perform the music that follows like that which has preceded

—used as a direction in music

segue

2 of 3

verb

se·gue ˈse-(ˌ)gwā

ˈsā-

segued; segueing

intransitive verb

: to proceed without pause from one musical number or theme to another

: to make a transition without interruption from one activity, topic, scene, or part to another

segued smoothly into the next story

segue

3 of 3

noun

se·gue ˈse-(ˌ)gwā

ˈsā-

: a transition made without pause or interruption : the act or an instance of segueing (see segue entry 2)

Did you know?

Segue vs Segway

Segue is occasionally found spelled segway, even in edited text. There are two likely reasons for this: the familiar suffix –way (as seen in driveway and runway) seems to agree with the notion of a segue as a "path" along which something transitions; and the existence of the homophone Segway as a trade name for an American company that produces electric transportation devices. The standard spelling segue comes from the use of the word's Italian root as a direction in music, indicating a transition without interruption.

Example Sentences

Verb Then he quickly segues into the dangers of being too hard on cops who make an honest mistake. That turns out to be the moral of the story, the perils of politics intruding on the job.

Ted Conover, New York Times Book Review, 18 Apr. 2004 As the Klamath Mountains segue into the Coast Range, moist Pacific air creeps up the river valley in cottony mists.

Bruce Barcott, Mother Jones, May–June 2003 But for casual acquaintances, keep your response brief. Just say "I'm happy for him," and segue into another topic.

Kitty Flynn, Cosmopolitan, December 2000 She quickly segued to the next topic. The band smoothly segued from one song to the next. In the movie, a shot of the outside of the house segued neatly to a shot of the family inside the house. Noun The evening news continued, a fast segue into a promo for that night's showcase program, an inquiry into the sources of the civic genius of Bonaparte …

Ward Just, Forgetfulness, (2006) 2007 Making a smooth segue into foreign policy, he offered a nuanced assessment of Russia's acting President Vladimir Putin as "showing signs of pragmatism," but added, correctly, that "anyone who tells you they have Putin figured out is blowing smoke."

James Carney, Time, 21 Feb. 2000 See More

Recent Examples on the Web

Imperative verb

The award presentation by Paul Williams, ASCAP chairman of the board and president, will segue into an exclusive conversation steered by Chris Willman, senior music writer and chief music critic for Variety.

Paul Grein, Billboard, 6 Oct. 2022 Emmerich, who has been leading Warners since 2017 after a long run at New Line, will segue to a producing deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 Chara, who came to Boston as a free agent in July 2006 from Ottawa and immediately was made captain, long seemed a natural fit to segue into a front-office position with the Bruins.

Kevin Paul Dupont, BostonGlobe.com, 20 Sep. 2022 The new generation continues to segue towards online as a more precedent and appealing method of educating themselves.

Marc Berman, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Those experiences would lead Gatlin to segue into public relations.

Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022 These new acts will next segue into a six city U.S. tour.

Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022 The doc uses them to segue into another one of its key themes: narrative framing.

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2022 Littman plans to segue into his own production company.

Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 2 June 2022

Verb

Certain to be an international festival talking point, the poignant film should segue to an extended life in ancillary.

Alissa Simon, Variety, 4 Sep. 2021 Those experiences would lead Gatlin to segue into public relations.

Darcel Rockett, Chicago Tribune, 25 Aug. 2022 Emmerich, who has been leading Warners since 2017 after a long run at New Line, will segue to a producing deal with Warner Bros. Discovery.

Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 2 Sep. 2022 These new acts will next segue into a six city U.S. tour.

Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Aug. 2022 The new generation continues to segue towards online as a more precedent and appealing method of educating themselves.

Marc Berman, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Littman plans to segue into his own production company.

Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 2 June 2022 The doc uses them to segue into another one of its key themes: narrative framing.

Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 20 June 2022 Uncertainties near the 18th will segue into strong moves that take you far from the 22nd to the 25th.

Katharine Merlin, Town & Country, 16 May 2022

Noun

Oliver begins his segue, clearly referencing a preceding segment that was not aired.

Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2022 Sky also cut a short bit about corporate responses to the Queen’s death on social media, and only included a mention of the Queen’s death as a segue to a segment on new Prime Minister Liz Truss.

Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Sep. 2022 In recent years, interior design has become her muse and a natural segue for more creative expressions.

Jody Garlock, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Sep. 2022 What better segue than this to land on another hot-button issue: blockchain.

Clifford Pearce, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2022 Amato’s segue to a political life began with former president Barack Obama’s Organizing for Action program, which offered fellowships and training in grass-roots activism.

Peter Marks, Washington Post, 19 Aug. 2022 Tesfaye’s tendency to play snippets of songs and segue into another number exacerbated that perception.

Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 25 July 2022 Creating Haus Labs was a natural segue from Gaga's own beauty philosophy.

Michelle Lee, PEOPLE.com, 6 July 2022 Men’s tennis hasn’t had a comparable wunderkind since, and so the temptation to create some kind of Jordan-to-LeBron segue of Spanish tennis stars is unavoidable.

Jason Gay, WSJ, 9 May 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'segue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.