transition

1 of 2

noun

tran·si·tion tran(t)-ˈsi-shən

tran-ˈzi-,

chiefly British tran(t)-ˈsi-zhən

plural transitions

: a change or shift from one state, subject, place, etc. to another

a peaceful/orderly transition of power

the actor's transition to directing

the patient's transition from the hospital to home

… the transition from print reading to screen reading has increased our reliance on images …

Christine Rosen

The program works with newcomer families, and their students, to help support the transition and integration into the school system.

Chris Sumner

The National Portrait Gallery's emphasis in its caricature collection underscores the field's subtle transition between the world wars, when it went from mostly political uses to the light-hearted entertainment of celebrity caricature.

Jane Addams Allen

… having told all her griefs …, she was soon able to make a voluntary transition to the oddities of her cousin …

Jane Austen

Since the eye retains images slightly longer than it is actually exposed to them, it tends to meld two successive images into one, creating a smooth transition between them. This phenomenon … is responsible for the illusion of motion in movies … and television.

Edward Pincus and Steven Ascher

: a period or phase in which such a change or shift is happening

… you're at the cusp, kids. You're at the edge between childhood and everything that comes after. You're in transition.

R. J. Palacio

… non-REM sleep, which normally comprises the transition between waking and REM sleep …

Marina Chicurel

Perched at the very point of transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance …

Kirkus Reviews

… today's average marrying age in America happens to coincide with a time of life when people have historically been less religiously active: the transition period between moving out of your parents' house and starting a household of your own.

Emma Green

: something that links one state, subject, place, etc. to another : a connecting part or piece

[The front porch] served … as a vital transition between the uncontrollable out-of-doors and the cherished interior of the home.

Reynolds Price

: such as

: a passage of discourse in which a shift (as of subject or location) is effected

Every aspect of the book—its narrative transitions, dramatic changes in pictorial scale, fluctuations of mood, interlinking of visual themes—is handled with pinpoint control.

Holland Cotter

: a segment connecting one dramatic scene to another

Another misstep: the overuse of historical footage as a transition between scenes. The images are disruptive and used completely out of context, often predating the era depicted here.

Nicole Herrington

: a passage linking two sections of a piece of music : bridge

Furthermore, in two instances where new musical ideas are introduced … Mozart provides a musical transition to connect the new section with the preceding one.

Michael Nott

It's a complicated emotion, and one that needed to be looked at and felt for quite some time before being hooked up with anything as confining as an intro, a verse or three, a chorus, and a bridge (transition between verse and chorus).

Carly Simon

also : a musical modulation (see modulation sense 3)

Occasionally composers will introduce their new key area abruptly. More often, however, they will effect a smooth transition into the new key.

Edward Aldwell and Carl Schachter

: a process by which a transgender person comes to live in accordance with their gender identity through changes to their appearance and presentation often with the aid of medical procedures and therapies

Note: While many associate this meaning of transition with a process that involves hormone therapy, gender confirmation surgery, and legal name change, the term is also applied more broadly, since what transition involves can vary a great deal from person to person. In some cases, for example, the word transition may simply refer to the adoption of new personal pronouns and/or a change in clothing, hairstyle, etc.

: an abrupt change in energy state or level (as of an atomic nucleus or a molecule) usually accompanied by loss or gain of a single quantum of energy

transition

2 of 2

verb

transitioned; transitioning; transitions

intransitive : to make a change or shift from one state, subject, place, etc. to another : to make a transition

transitioning to a new facility

a student transitioning into college

Too many of the exterior shingles had transitioned from weathered to warped, and the interior walls all needed a fresh coat of paint.

Richard Russo

Because tornadoes are generated when these different air masses … collide, they are most common in the spring, when the weather is transitioning from cold on the northern Plains to hot on the Gulf Coast.

Donald Prothero

transitive : to cause (something or someone) to change or shift from one state, subject, place, etc. to another

Teaching children to read first in their nonstandard Swedish dialect and then transitioning them to standard Swedish speeds and improves the acquisition of reading skills.

Geoffrey K. Pullum

In the United States, the company's plans for transitioning prescription products to over-the-counter is easier now, as the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) unwritten standards for such switches have evolved.

Robin Madell

intransitive, of a transgender person : to come to live in accordance with one's gender identity through a process that involves changes to one's appearance and presentation often with the aid of medical procedures and therapies

Not all transgender people transition, and transitions look different for all kinds of people. They can be fast, or slow, and include lots of different kinds of treatments. … Transition is not one-size-fits-all. You may be comfortable altering your gendered existence without hormones or surgery; other people will feel those kinds of physical transitions are necessary for their survival.

Diana Tourjée

… her [Jan Morris'] superb account of transitioning from male to female in the 1960s, when it was even more difficult than it is now.

Peter Bradshaw

… she wanted to be helpful to other trans people who might not have had the same educational and cultural advantages she'd had. She had even written a guide about the practical aspects of transitioning, such as changing your name and updating legal documents, for others who might be following a similar path.

Rebecca Mead

Example Sentences

Noun We want to have a smooth transition when the new owners take control of the company. the sometimes difficult transition from childhood to adulthood The country made a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. Verb The company has transitioned to new management in the past year. a student who is transitioning to a new school

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The offense has made the smooth transition from Montasi Clay last year to sophomore Jackson Willis (3,907 passing yards, 51 TDs), who is likely to become the fifth quarterback in state history to throw for 4,000 yards in a single season.

The Indianapolis Star, 25 Nov. 2022 Ronaldo’s transition from soccer god to 37-year-old mortal.

Joshua Robinson, WSJ, 24 Nov. 2022 The transition in care between two health systems, even when there are certain systems set up, isn’t good.

Ambar Castillo, STAT, 23 Nov. 2022 Chubby fish in blue water created by the younger students transition to a scene by a fifth-grader featuring a seahorse, crab, jellyfish and aquatic plant life on a sandy ocean bottom.

Mary Jane Brewer, cleveland, 20 Nov. 2022 Investigators are looking into whether Trump or those around him mishandled documents with classified markings during the 2021 presidential transition, an investigation that involved the execution of a search warrant at Trump's Florida residence.

Robert Legare, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2022 Without it, any combination of public grants or loans will be far less than the funding needed to effect a rapid, equitable energy transition.

Tim Mcdonnell, Quartz, 14 Nov. 2022 Each year roughly 200,000 service members transition out of the military, and while most reenter civilian life successfully, others struggle with drug and alcohol addiction, PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and homelessness.

Chuck Hagel, Time, 11 Nov. 2022 The transition between the first two stages, execute and systemize, can be intense and laborious, because the entrepreneur may still be doing everything in their business and a central part of its operations while working on making processes.

Jodie Cook, Forbes, 11 Nov. 2022

Verb

Then patients usually transition back to standard care with a primary care provider, with conversations driven by their age and overall health.

Katherine Harmon Courage, STAT, 22 Nov. 2022 Festive without screaming holiday, these napkin rings will transition nicely from Christmas to winter table decor.

Jennifer Carmichael, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Nov. 2022 But the 20-story Cleveland State University landmark would transition from academic space to residential under the school’s new master plan.

cleveland, 18 Nov. 2022 While Banks has performed well, being able to transition Brunskill back to guard would make sense.

Vincent Frank, Forbes, 2 Aug. 2022 In a continent responsible for just a fraction of historic carbon emissions, leaders are facing criticism for fossil fuel exploration — including from rich countries that have failed to transition away from polluting energy themselves.

Dharna Noor, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Nov. 2022 Scientists have showed that the world needs to transition away from fossil fuel and toward renewable energy to keep global temperatures from rising more.

Laura Smith-spark, CNN, 5 Nov. 2022 The brand offers a cup exchange program that enables cafés to transition away from single-use cups by supplementing them with returnable Huskee tumblers.

Courtney Coonrod, Bon Appétit, 4 Nov. 2022 For countries to transition away from fossil fuels and toward cleaner energies like solar power, supply chains for components need to be more geographically diverse, officials said during the conference.

Sibi Arasu, The Christian Science Monitor, 26 Oct. 2022 See More

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

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Latin transition-, transitio, from transire

First Known Use

Noun

1545, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1877, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler

The first known use of transition was in 1545

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Transition.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transition. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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Kids Definition

transition

1 of 2 noun

tran·si·tion tran(t)s-ˈish-ən

tranz-

: a changing from one state, stage, place, or subject to another

: a musical passage leading from one section of a piece to another

transitional

-ˈish-nəl

-ˈizh-

-ən-ᵊl

adjective

transitionally

-ē

adverb

transition

2 of 2 verb

: to make a transition

transitioning to a new school

Medical Definition

transition

noun

tran·si·tion

tran(t)s-ˈish-ən, tranz-, chiefly British tran(t)s-ˈizh-

: passage from one state or stage to another

especially : an abrupt change in energy state or level (as of an atomic nucleus or a molecule) usually accompanied by loss or gain of a single quantum of energy

or transition mutation : a point mutation in RNA or DNA that results from the substitution of one purine base for the other or of one pyrimidine base for the other