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[tran-zish-uh n, -sish-] /trænˈzɪʃ ən, -ˈsɪʃ-/
the transition from adolescence to adulthood.
  1. a passing from one key to another; modulation.
  2. a brief modulation; a modulation used in passing.
  3. a sudden, unprepared modulation.
verb (used without object)
to make a transition:
He had difficulty transitioning from enlisted man to officer.
Origin of transition
1545-55; < Latin trānsitiōn- (stem of trānsitiō) a going across, equivalent to trānsit(us) (past participle of transīre to cross; cf. transit) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
transitional, transitionary
[tran-zish-uh-ner-ee, -sish-] /trænˈzɪʃ əˌnɛr i, -ˈsɪʃ-/ (Show IPA),
transitionally, adverb
nontransitional, adjective
nontransitionally, adverb
untransitional, adjective
untransitionally, adverb
1. changeover, passing, conversion. Unabridged
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Examples from the Web for transition
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

    Modern Italian Poets William Dean Howells
  • Let there be nothing in the state of transition worse than simple imprisonment.

  • My half-brother came back from college, an altered youth, as uninteresting in his transition as the season I have just described.

  • I want to get the transition over now, though it is rather an abrupt one.

    Cleo The Magnificent Louis Zangwill

British Dictionary definitions for transition


change or passage from one state or stage to another
  1. a movement from one key to another; modulation
  2. a linking passage between two divisions in a composition; bridge
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
  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
a sentence, passage, etc, that connects a topic to one that follows or that links sections of a written work
Derived Forms
transitional, (rare) transitionary, adjective
transitionally, adverb
Word Origin
C16: from Latin transitio; see transient
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Word Origin and History for transition

1550s, from Latin transitionem (nominative transitio) "a going across or over," noun of action from past participle stem of transire "go or cross over" (see transient).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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