tran·si·tion (trăn-zĭsh'ən, -sĭsh'-)
n.

1. Passage from one form, state, style, or place to another.
2. 1. Passage from one subject to another in discourse.
   2. A word, phrase, sentence, or series of sentences connecting one part of a discourse to another.
3. Music.
   1. A modulation, especially a brief one.
   2. A passage connecting two themes or sections.
4. Genetics. A point mutation in which a pyrimidine is replaced by another pyrimidine, or a purine is replaced by another purine.
5. Sports. The process of changing from defense to offense or offense to defense, as in basketball or hockey.
6. A period during childbirth that precedes the expulsive phase of labor, characterized by strong uterine contractions and nearly complete cervical dilation.

intr.v., -tioned, -tion·ing, -tions.

1. To make a transition.
2. Sports. To change from defense to offense or offense to defense.

transitional tran·si'tion·al or tran·si'tion·ar'y (-zĭsh'ə-nĕr'ē) adj.
transitionally tran·si'tion·al·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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