transit

American  

[tran-zit, -sit] / ˈtræn zɪt, -sɪt /

noun

• transits
  plural

1. the act or fact of passing across or through; passage from one place to another.

   The area continues to be affected by the transit of illegal drugs bound for major cities.

2. conveyance or transportation of people or goods from one place to another, especially local public transportation.

   Improving city transit is a high priority for the new mayor.

3. a transition or change.

   The transit of autumn to winter saw woodpecker season in full swing and Canada geese on the move.

4. Astronomy.

   1. the passage of a heavenly body across the meridian of a given location or through the field of a telescope.

      The experiments lasted long enough for us to detect the transit of black holes with a mass of up to 10 times that of our sun.

   2. the passage of Mercury or Venus across the disk of the sun, or of a satellite or its shadow across the face of its primary.

      In June 2012, a NASA webcast enabled the public to view the transit of Venus across the solar disk.

   3. meridian circle.

5. Astrology. the passage of a planet through one of the twelve houses or divisions of the celestial sphere or across the position held by another planet in a person’s birth chart.

   The transit of Mars is happening in the third house for you, so expect a shift in things concerning home and family.

6. Also called transit theodolite, transit instrument.  Surveying. a type of theodolite having a telescope that can be flipped vertically to reverse the direction of view: used for measuring horizontal and often vertical angles, sometimes with the ability to take successive measurements of the same angle and average them for greater accuracy.

7. U.S. Aerospace. Transit, one of a series of satellites for providing positional data to ships and aircraft.

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verb (used with object)

• transits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transited,
  past participle,  past
• transiting
  present participle

1. to pass across or through.

   Many millions of oil barrels transit the Suez Canal every day.

   It’s fairly easy to intercept emails as they transit the internet.

2. Surveying, Astronomy. to flip (a telescope) vertically in order to reverse the direction of view.

3. Astronomy. to cross (a meridian, celestial body, etc.).

   Mercury transits the sun about 13 or 14 times each century.

verb (used without object)

• transits,
  present (3rd person singular)
• transited,
  past participle,  past
• transiting
  present participle

1. to pass over, through, into, or out of something.

   Are you planning on transiting through the United States?

   Attackers can hijack your data as it transits to and from your system.

2. Astronomy. to make a passage across a meridian, celestial body, etc..

   The probe was looking for planets transiting across the face of stars.

idioms

1. in transit. see in transit.

transit British  

/ ˈtrænsɪt, ˈtrænz- /

noun

1. 1. the passage or conveyance of goods or people

   2. ( as modifier )

      a transit visa

2. a change or transition

3. a route

4. astronomy

   1. the passage of a celestial body or satellite across the face of a relatively larger body as seen from the earth

   2. the apparent passage of a celestial body across the meridian, caused by the earth's diurnal rotation

5. astrology the passage of a planet across some special point on the zodiac

6. while being conveyed; during passage

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verb

1. to make a transit through or over (something)

2. astronomy to make a transit across (a celestial body or the meridian)

3. to cause (the telescope of a surveying instrument) to turn over or (of such a telescope) to be turned over in a vertical plane so that it points in the opposite direction

transit Scientific  

/ trăn′sĭt /

1. The passage of a smaller celestial body or its shadow across the disk of a larger celestial body. As observed from Earth, Mercury and Venus are the only planets of the solar system that make transits of the Sun, because they are the only planets with orbits that lie between Earth and the Sun. Mercury makes an average of 13 transits of the Sun each century. Transits of Venus across the Sun are much rarer, with only 7 of them having occurred between 1639 and 2004. In contrast, transits of Jupiter's moons across its disk are common occurrences.

2. Compare occultation

3. The passage of a celestial body across the celestial meridian (the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and an observer's zenith). For any observer, the object is at its highest in the sky at its transit of the observer's meridian.

4. See more at celestial meridian

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transitable
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• transits
  plural

Participles

• transiting
  present
• transited
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• transit
  simple
• transits
  simple
• have transited
  perfect
• has transited
  perfect
• am transiting
  progressive
• are transiting
  progressive
• is transiting
  progressive
• have been transiting
  perfect progressive
• has been transiting
  perfect progressive

Past

• transited
  simple
• had transited
  perfect
• was transiting
  progressive
• were transiting
  progressive
• had been transiting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will transit
  simple
• will have transited
  perfect
• will be transiting
  progressive
• will have been transiting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of transit

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun and verb), from Latin trānsitus “crossing, passage,” noun use of past participle of trānsīre “to go across, pass over,” from trāns- trans- + īre “to go”

Explanation

Transit means “journey,” and saying you’re "in transit" means you’re on your way somewhere. Before we had cell phones, one of the upsides of being in transit was that no one could get in touch with you. Transit may be familiar to you from the phrase mass transit. While it sometimes seems like “mass transit” is synonymous with “unreliable, crowded and inefficient,” the phrase just means "public transportation." The first instance of transit being used in this sense was in the 19th century, and people have been complaining ever since. Transit is related to the word transition, which refers to a change from one state or condition to another.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transit transits transited transiting

The revenue growth was “amplified by increased transit traffic through Hong Kong as travelers looked to other hubs due to the Middle East situation in the second quarter,” Chairman Guy Bradley said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

I am now carrying a gorgeous straw tote and wearing linen that has somehow survived public transit without acquiring a wrinkle.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

The agency said it provided more than 212,000 rides directly to and from SoFi Stadium and 15 parking and transit hubs in L.A. and Orange counties through an enhanced service.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 2026

The “back-and-forth with respect to disruptions and attacks” creates more uncertainty and concern and less willingness to transit, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Figuring out the transit system and its schedules was the land of problem-solving exercise he relished.

From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz

Strait of Hormuz transits fell to eight on Thursday, down from an average of 30 last week and roughly 130 a day before the war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

The number of transits through Hormuz fell to 10 on Monday, according to ship-tracking firm Kpler.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The number of ships using this Omani route grew to a peak of 28 vessels on 25 June, Kpler's data shows, overtaking the number of transits via the Iranian route.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

On the same day there were 15 inbound tanker transits and 5 VLCCs.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026

She tracked the regulars on their daily transits through the park, assembling notes and speculations like the compilers of her almanacs.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

In peacetime, about a fifth of the world’s supply of crude and crude products transited through Hormuz.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

Before the war began, Kpler data showed that more than 100 vessels carrying oil and other goods transited through the waterway per day.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 24, 2026

“Meanwhile, shipping data showed millions of barrels of crude and fuel products transited the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, reinforcing expectations of improving regional supply flows.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026

Many of the tankers that have transited the strait in recent days have been linked with Iran following the lifting of the US naval blockade as part of the deal.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

She has transited the Atlantic to attend our Congress, but can only be present at this evening's Inauguratory, as she must be in New York again before sundown to-morrow.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 62, Jan 27, 1872 by Various

However, both main contracts edged up Thursday after Iran said it had agreed a route with Oman for ships transiting the waterway and were adding the final touches to arrangements for jointly managing it.

From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026

Left unsaid was whether Tehran is prepared to permanently drop its demand that it should be able to collect tolls from transiting commercial vessels and if those negotiations would lead to a fully reopened waterway.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026

"The ship is no longer transiting to Iran."

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026

A renewed US blockade on Iranian ports was imposed on Tuesday evening, which stops vessels from transiting to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.

From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026

Pain, and seeing two bright objects transiting the darkness at which he looked; seeing something then between.

From A Gift For Terra by Holden, Fox B.

Related Words

• passage
• shipment
• transport
• travel