transition

American  

[tran-zish-uhn, -sish-] / trænˈzɪʃ ən, -ˈsɪʃ- /

noun

• transitions
  plural

1. movement, passage, or change from one position, state, stage, subject, concept, etc., to another; change.

   The transition from adolescence to adulthood can be difficult.

   Synonyms:

   conversion, passing, changeover

2. Music.

   1. a passing from one key to another; modulation.

   2. a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.

   3. a sudden, unprepared modulation.

3. a passage from one scene to another by sound effects, music, etc., as in a television program, theatrical production, or the like.

4. Also called gender transition.  the process by which a transgender person comes to openly express their gender identity, including changes to their way of dressing, acting, or speaking, to their pronouns, name, or legal gender marker, or to their physical characteristics via hormone therapy and surgery.

   When I began my transition, there was very little information online about testosterone.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a transition.

   He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.

2. (of a transgender person) to move toward openly expressing one's gender identity, often by making changes to one's way of dressing, acting, or speaking, to one's pronouns, name, or legal gender marker, or to one's physical characteristics via hormone therapy and surgery.

   My friend is transitioning socially, but she doesn't want hormone therapy or surgery.

transition British  

/ trænˈzɪʃən /

noun

1. change or passage from one state or stage to another

2. the period of time during which something changes from one state or stage to another

3. music

   1. a movement from one key to another; modulation

   2. a linking passage between two divisions in a composition; bridge

4. Also called: transitional.  a style of architecture that was used in western Europe in the late 11th and early 12th century, characterized by late Romanesque forms combined with early Gothic details

5. physics

   1. any change that results in a change of physical properties of a substance or system, such as a change of phase or molecular structure

   2. a change in the configuration of an atomic nucleus, involving either a change in energy level resulting from the emission of a gamma-ray photon or a transformation to another element or isotope

6. a sentence, passage, etc, that connects a topic to one that follows or that links sections of a written work

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• transitional
  adjective
• transitionary
  adjective
• transitionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• transitions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of transition

First recorded in 1545–55; from Latin trānsitiōn-, stem of trānsitiō “passage, transit across,” from trānsit(us) “gone across” (past participle of trānsīre “to go across, pass over”; cf. transit ) + -iō -ion

Explanation

A transition is a change from one thing to the next, either in action or state of being—as in a job transition or as in the much more dramatic example of a caterpillar making a transition into a butterfly. Transition is awfully reassuring in its tidy reliance on regular forms. Trans means "cross," so when you hear it at the beginning of a word you know that it indicates crossing, as in transatlantic or translate. An odd thing happening with transition lately is that it is transitioning from its familiar form as a noun to a newer life as a verb, as in “We’re going to transition Gloria to that new job.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

transition transitions

The company gave no timeline for that transition, saying only that full rollout would come when it was confident the product worked.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

A suggestion for schools: As summer vacation comes to a close, students will likely transition to spending most of their time indoors, looking at screens.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

"Sustained support for care leavers is vital, particularly as they transition into adulthood," their statement added.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

Roberts added that the regents “have benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision, and leadership. We look forward to working with him in the coming months to ensure a smooth transition for his successor.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

"I'm supposed to know all things when it comes to you and your transition to court."

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

“As climate change forces difficult transitions across California’s agricultural communities, we should be looking for practical ways to help them adapt while moving us closer to our clean energy goals,” Wicks said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

“CEO transitions are always a risk,” namely for companies “that are driven by a singular vision,” Morningstar chief equity market strategist Michael Field said.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 1, 2026

He argued that AI will soon also affect blue-collar work, and the breadth and speed make it different from other workplace transitions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

"The mechanism responsible for the emergence of this second phase has long been debated, and our approach provides a powerful new way to uncover the hidden physics behind phase transitions in quantum materials," Gedik says.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 20, 2026

The video then transitions to a montage of scenes with Grandma coming over to feed Grandpa, taking away his salty nuts or candy, bringing him his medicine and vitamins, laughing at him, nagging him.

From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh

Related Words

• changeover
• conversion
• development
• evolution
• growth
• passage
• progress
• progression
• shift
• transformation
• upheaval