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

“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

Rosalía used this as a perfect segue into her song La Perla, supposedly about her former fiancé Rauw Alejandro - with lyrics about a "terrorista emocional" whose proudest achievement is his collection of bras.

From BBC ● May 6, 2026

Likewise, the score by Tony Doogan leans too heavily on generic electronic thuds, the kind that segue into a commercial break cliffhanger and an ad for blood pressure medicine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 23, 2026

The next question is, “What department are you in?” followed by, “How long have you worked here?”— from which it’s an obvious segue to the business at hand.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich

After spending two decades molding Disney into a media colossus, Iger segued into a senior advisory role, which will run through December when he officially retires.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 12, 2026

But all that momentum for change stalled when, in 1917, the United States entered World War I and then segued to a postwar decade of speculative frenzy.

From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2025

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 I held the guitar over my head, the metallic ringing segued into a guitar power chord that echoed throughout the cave.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

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 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