segue

imperative verb

se·gue | \ ˈse-(ˌ)gwā ,

ˈsā- \

Definition of segue

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : proceed to what follows without pause —used as a direction in music

2 : perform the music that follows like that which has preceded —used as a direction in music

segue

verb

se·gue | \ ˈse-(ˌ)gwā ,

ˈsā- \

segued; segueing

Definition of segue (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

1 : to proceed without pause from one musical number or theme to another

2 : to make a transition without interruption from one activity, topic, scene, or part to another segued smoothly into the next story

segue

noun

se·gue | \ ˈse-(ˌ)gwā ,

ˈsā- \

Definition of segue (Entry 3 of 3)

: a transition made without pause or interruption : the act or an instance of segueing (see segue entry 2)

segue vs segway More Example Sentences Learn More about segue

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segue vs segway

Noun

Segue is occasionally found spelled segway, even in edited text. There are two likely reasons for this:

The familiar suffix –way (as seen in driveway and runway) seems to agree with the notion of a segue as a "path" along which something transitions;
The existence of the homophone Segway as a trade name for an American company that produces electric transportation devices.

The standard spelling segue comes from the use of the word's Italian root as a direction in music, indicating a transition without interruption.

Examples of segue in a Sentence

Verb

Then he quickly segues into the dangers of being too hard on cops who make an honest mistake. That turns out to be the moral of the story, the perils of politics intruding on the job. —Ted Conover, New York Times Book Review, 18 Apr. 2004 As the Klamath Mountains segue into the Coast Range, moist Pacific air creeps up the river valley in cottony mists. —Bruce Barcott, Mother Jones, May–June 2003 But for casual acquaintances, keep your response brief. Just say "I'm happy for him," and segue into another topic. —Kitty Flynn, Cosmopolitan, December 2000 She quickly segued to the next topic. The band smoothly segued from one song to the next. In the movie, a shot of the outside of the house segued neatly to a shot of the family inside the house.

Noun

The evening news continued, a fast segue into a promo for that night's showcase program, an inquiry into the sources of the civic genius of Bonaparte … —Ward Just, Forgetfulness, (2006) 2007 Making a smooth segue into foreign policy, he offered a nuanced assessment of Russia's acting President Vladimir Putin as "showing signs of pragmatism," but added, correctly, that "anyone who tells you they have Putin figured out is blowing smoke." —James Carney, Time, 21 Feb. 2000

Recent Examples on the Web: Imperative verb

Cudi’s precision seamlessly segued over to him and Ye’s joint effort, Kids See Ghosts. — Mark Elibert, Billboard, "Kid Cudi's 10 Best Features: Critic's Picks," 11 June 2018 Keith’s decisions go from oops to yikes to whoa, including a flirtation with an art student (Maya Martinez) that segues into the rash buying of a gun. — Robert Abele, latimes.com, "‘Sollers Point,’ a fresh take on working-class struggles and race in Trump country," 25 May 2018 The three of them segued from tune to tune with hardly a pause, other than to introduce one another midway through. — Bill Beuttler, BostonGlobe.com, "A lot of love in the air as the TEN Trio grooves at Scullers," 1 July 2018 The group and its lead singer segued to even greater fame after the switch to Epic engineered by their father. — Chris Morris, chicagotribune.com, "Joe Jackson, patriarch of America's most famous musical clan, father of Michael Jackson, dead at 89," 27 June 2018 This Karlovy Vary world premiere should find a berth at other nonfiction and general film showcases before segueing quite comfortably to the small screen, where its boxy aspect ratio will look most at home. — Boyd Van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Swing' ('Al Marjouha'): Film Review | Karlovy Vary 2018," 12 July 2018 Born into a highly political family, Thorpe studied at Eton and Oxford before segueing a brief law career into politics. — Julie Miller, HWD, "The Secret, Real-Life Love Affair Behind A Very English Scandal," 1 July 2018 Fretz, 25, was a political organizer who segued into a job as an operations manager for a top tech-talent recruiter. — Sam Wood, Philly.com, "Fishtown firm's eggplant-shaped vibrator aims to remake the sex-toy industry," 29 May 2018 Moses Sumney kept everyone rapt during a soulful performance, which segued into Charlie Klarsfeld deejaying into the wee hours. — Edward Barsamian, Vogue, "An Italian Disco Fueled by Churro-Cannoli: Sally Singer Hosts Vogue’s Pre-Met Party," 6 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Inside the Dodgers dugout, as Rich Hill attempted to traverse the final 90 feet of an adventurous trip around the bases in the fourth inning of a 6-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, the reaction segued from amusement to horror. — Andy Mccullough, latimes.com, "Dodgers have an eventful 6-4 win over the Pirates," 5 July 2018 Cumming swiftly segued from Karen O-esque snarls to angelic, wordless vocals to ferocious head-banging as Jacob Faber pounded the drums. — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Best and worst of Summerfest Day 3: BlocBoy JB, Billy Currington, MILCK and more," 30 June 2018 Born into a highly political family, Thorpe studied at Eton and Oxford before segueing a brief law career into politics. — Julie Miller, HWD, "The Secret, Real-Life Love Affair Behind A Very English Scandal," 1 July 2018 Thompson segues to Epic after his most recent post as senior vp of promotion at Entertainment One in New York. — Gail Mitchell, Billboard, "Dontay Thompson Joins Epic Records as Senior VP, Rhythm/Crossover Promotion," 22 May 2018 This segues into Manayunk Restaurant Week, April 16-27. — Michael Klein, Philly.com, "Let's Eat: Three dozen more restaurants!," 11 Apr. 2018 The almost-century old workwear brand Dickies recently segued into the flourishing fashion shape wear] category. — Kavita Daswani, latimes.com, "Trina Turk partners with SeaVees for a California-brand mash-up," 30 Mar. 2018 This Karlovy Vary world premiere should find a berth at other nonfiction and general film showcases before segueing quite comfortably to the small screen, where its boxy aspect ratio will look most at home. — Boyd Van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter, "'The Swing' ('Al Marjouha'): Film Review | Karlovy Vary 2018," 12 July 2018 Fretz, 25, was a political organizer who segued into a job as an operations manager for a top tech-talent recruiter. — Sam Wood, Philly.com, "Fishtown firm's eggplant-shaped vibrator aims to remake the sex-toy industry," 29 May 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The best theory is that the instrument allows the performer to flip it over for easy segues from one tuning to another. — David Patrick Stearns, Philly.com, "Bowerbird's 2-man music contraption is a hot ticket for 4 remaining Philly shows," 8 May 2018 On occasion the segues into gypsy anecdotes seem forced; the frequent narrative leaps can be disorienting. — The Economist, "A British traveller’s travelogue," 12 July 2018 What better segue, then, into the track that’s definitely produced by the legendary Memphis group's DJ Paul? — Patrick Lyons, Billboard, "Shrinking Drake's 25-Track 'Scorpion' Into a More Digestible 13-Track Album," 2 July 2018 Shorty's unique bounce shares the segue with City Girls and Drizzy. — Michael Saponara, Billboard, "Decoding All of Drake's References on 'In My Feelings'," 13 July 2018 The Ford vs Ferrari movie is rare segue into movies for Balfe, whose last big-screen outing was Jodie Foster and George Clooney’s Money Monster. — Borys Kit, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Outlander' Star Caitriona Balfe, 'Quiet Place' Breakout Noah Jupe Join Ford vs. Ferrari Movie (Exclusive)," 23 May 2018 Still in mourning, Denis seemed incapable of avoiding the topic, turning to it in many of our conversations, with little or no segue. — Alice Gregory, The New Yorker, "The Fearless Cinema of Claire Denis," 19 May 2018 This provides a great segue into the next topic- Reserervoir High students that represented their high school at the Maryland National History Day competition. — Chuck Gait, Howard County Times, "Teachers in county recognized for board certification [Highland/Fulton]," 17 May 2018 The Pentagon project was a lucrative segue to other projects for Stidham to tackle. — Julie Gallant, Ramona Sentinel, "Detours in life lead to construction success," 8 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'segue.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.