transition

UK: /trænˈzɪʃ^ən/

US: /trænˈzɪʃən, -ˈsɪʃ-/

US: (tran zish′ən, -sish′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

tran•si•tion /trænˈzɪʃən, -ˈsɪʃ-/   n. 

1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, etc., to another:
   [uncountable] The company is still in transition from one boss to another.
2. a period during which such change takes place:
   [countable] A transition like this one could take weeks.
3. a sentence, paragraph, etc., that links one scene or topic to another:
   [countable] Use transition words to signal to your reader that you are connecting ideas.

v. [no object]

4. to make a transition.

tran•si•tion•al, adj. 

: a transitional manager until a new one could be hired.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

tran•si•tion  (tran zish′ən, -sish′-), n. 

1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change:
   the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
2. [Music.]
   • a passing from one key to another;
     modulation.
   • a brief modulation;
     a modulation used in passing.
   • a sudden, unprepared modulation.
3. a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.

v.i. 

4. to make a transition:
   He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.

• Latin trānsitiōn- (stem of trānsitiō) a going across, equivalent. to trānsit(us) (past participle of transīre to cross; compare transit) + -iōn- -ion
• 1545–55

tran•si′tion•al, tran•si•tion•a•ry (tran zish′ə ner′ē, -sish′-), adj.  tran•si ′tion•al•ly, adv. 
Synonyms

• 1. changeover, passing, conversion.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

transition / trænˈzɪʃən/ noun

1. change or passage from one state or stage to another
2. the period of time during which something changes from one state or stage to another
3. the process by which a person changes gender
4. a movement from one key to another; modulation
5. a linking passage between two divisions in a composition; bridge
6. Also called: transitional a style of architecture that was used in western Europe in the late 11th and early 12th century, characterized by late Romanesque forms combined with early Gothic details
7. a sentence, passage, etc, that connects a topic to one that follows or that links sections of a written work

verb

1. to change or cause to change from one state or stage to another
2. (intransitive) to undergo a social, medical, or legal process of changing from from one gender to another

Etymology: 16th Century: from Latin transitio; see transient

tranˈsitional, tranˈsitionary adjective

tranˈsitionally adverb