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

Belafonte “often visited Janet Kennedy’s couch in the late afternoon, when their sessions could segue easily into cocktails and dinner” at the Kennedys’ elegant apartment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

“War” segues into “Born In The USA,” a segue so simple but so brilliant it’s surprising it hasn’t happened before.

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

Passionately defending cinema on the big screen and then waiting for the next suggested movie to segue into our queue.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 29, 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

In a press conference soon after, he agreed that the hotel was “not a particularly secure building,” from which he segued into a pitch for his planned White House ballroom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 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

I kind of retired from doing jackets and segued into doing furniture, mainly chairs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2024

My brain hummed along as one thought segued into another.

From "Hole in My Life" by Jack Gantos

The exhibition slips past the complications of World War II with just a few ephemeral examples before segueing into an accumulation of familiar pop-culture products.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 7, 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 came on stage strumming an acoustic guitar and playing the exquisite melody of The Wind, before segueing to one of his most beloved songs, Moonshadow.

From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2023

Simply put, the culprit has been an ongoing health issue — two of them, really; one segueing into the other seamlessly to create a hellish month of inactivity.

From Seattle Times ● May 31, 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