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.

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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

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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; see sue

Explanation

A segue is a smooth transition. When you segue in conversation, you change the topic so smoothly that people might not even notice. A good speaker knows how to segue: they can get from one topic to another so easily that you hardly notice the topic changed. Comedians have the same skill as they segue from one joke to another, and politicians also learn the art of the segue. So do teachers. This is also a term in music for moving from one part of a piece to another. Remember that segue does not sound quite how it looks: it's pronounced "SEG-way."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

segue segued segueing

Morris, who’d flown in from New York after attending her pal Taylor Swift’s wedding on Friday night, made an improbably smooth segue between her and Zedd’s synthed-up “The Middle” and the rustic “My Church.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

I remember thinking her diatribe about the injustice of Hester Prynne’s shunning would segue into the cruelties Charles faced with the goal of inspiring someone to defy the blacklist.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Another important interlude is the segue of “American Skin” into “Long Walk Home.”

From Salon ● May 28, 2026

It's extremely tempting to write a segue here about Wolf's career having had its own teething troubles – but, in truth, it's been more of a slow burn on a long fuse.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

For Caesar, this is a natural place to segue into all the ways we did get hurt in the arena, from burns, to stings, to wounds.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 12, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026

The show began with a new-agey wash of ocean sounds, that segued seamlessly into her 2024 single, Training Season.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2025

As the chuckles subsided, Biden segued back to his prepared remarks by saying, “All kidding aside.”

From Slate ● Dec. 11, 2024

He walked up, made small talk, commented on the beauty of the sunset, and then, gallantly, segued into the beauty of her face.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides

“EPiC” follows Presley as he blazes through classics including “Little Sister,” slyly asserting his influence in rock by segueing into the Beatles’ “Get Back.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026

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 ● Jan. 25, 2026

He began his career at Hollywood trade magazine Variety, where he spent 12 years, starting as an intern and working his way up to become the publication’s chief film critic before segueing to The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2024

She emerges to ear-splitting screams, in a floral-print dress and towering heels, smouldering through the achingly cool A&W, before segueing into the ethereal Young and Beautiful.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2023

Snow was falling in earnest now—big silent petals drifting through the springtime woods, white bouquets segueing into snowy dark: a nightmarish topsy-turvy land, something from a story book.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

Related Words

• continuation