transit
[ tran-sit, -zit ]
/ ˈtræn sɪt, -zɪt /
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noun
verb (used with object), tran·sit·ed, tran·sit·ing.
verb (used without object), tran·sit·ed, tran·sit·ing.
to pass over or through something; make a transit.
Astronomy. to make a transit across a meridian, celestial body, etc.
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Origin of transit
1400–50; late Middle English (noun and v.) <Latin trānsitus a going across, passage, equivalent to trānsi-, variant stem of trānsīre to cross (trāns-trans- + -īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action
Words nearby transit
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
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British Dictionary definitions for transit
transit
/ (ˈtrænsɪt, ˈtrænz-) /
noun
verb
Derived forms of transit
transitable, adjectiveWord Origin for transit
C15: from Latin transitus a going over, from transīre to pass over; see transient
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for transit
transit
[ trăn′sĭt ]
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. Compare occultation.
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. See more at celestial meridian.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
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