segue

American  

[sey-gwey, seg-wey] / ˈseɪ gweɪ, ˈsɛg weɪ /

verb (used without object)

segued, segueing

1. to continue at once with the next musical section or composition (often used as a musical direction).

2. to perform in the manner of the preceding section (used as a musical direction).

3. to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption.

   The conversation segued from travel anecdotes to food.

---

noun

1. an uninterrupted transition made between one musical section or composition and another.

2. any smooth, uninterrupted transition from one thing to another.

segue British  

/ ˈsɛɡweɪ /

verb

1. (often foll by into) to proceed from one section or piece of music to another without a break

2. (imperative) play on without pause: a musical direction

---

noun

1. the practice or an instance of playing music in this way

Etymology

Origin of segue

First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian: “(it) follows, (there) follows,” 3rd-person singular present of seguire “to follow,” ultimately from Latin sequī; sue

Example Sentences

Seeing this as the perfect segue, I told him I, too, was having a baby except I wasn’t keeping mine.

From Los Angeles Times

Most of those founders eventually segued to the newer Friends of Big Bear Valley in the 2010s.

From Los Angeles Times

When asked about making a film for Netflix, Damon began by discussing the movie’s action sequences, before segueing into a telling detail about the streamer’s model.

From Salon

Elkhanah Pulitzer’s direction segued smoothly from the real to the visionary.

From The Wall Street Journal

On “Weekend Warrior,” Klapper might be talking about knee replacement surgery one minute, segue to Michelangelo’s rendering of the human form, and then insist that a sandwich is not a sandwich without peperoncini.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• continuation