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transition

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A change from one state or stage to another.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

tranzishuhn

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

tɹænˈzɪʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A change from one place or state or subject or stage to another

  2. The process of change from one form, state, style or place to another.

  3. The act of passing from one state or place to the next

  4. A word or phrase connecting one part of a discourse to another.

verb

  1. Make or undergo a transition (from one state or system to another)

    “The airline transitioned to more fuel-efficient jets.”

  2. Cause to convert or undergo a transition

    “The company had to transition the old practices to modern technology.”

  3. transitive

    To bring through a transition; to change.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B1 · Intermediate
Frequency
Common
Typical Use
Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A change from one place or state or subject or stage to another

Used this way, transition is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use transition

  • “The company had to transition the old practices to modern technology.”verb
  • “The airline transitioned to more fuel-efficient jets.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Professional

transition temperature

Published

phase transition

Other combinations

transition stateglass transitiontransition metaltransition zonetransition matrixtransition period

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

  • transitionaladjectiveDerived adjective

    Related to A change from one place or state or subject or stage to another.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • phase transitionnounCompound term

    A change from one state (solid or liquid or gas) to another without a change in chemical composition.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.