Definition of segue
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
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Origin and Etymology of segue
Italian, there follows, from seguire to follow, from Latin sequi — more at sue
Definition of segue
segued
;segueing
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
Examples of segue in a Sentence
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.
Origin and Etymology of segue
see 1segue
Examples of segue in a Sentence
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 of segue from the Web
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The song was popularized by Guy Lombardo when it was used as a segue between radio shows at midnight in 1929, although the midnight timing was not on purpose.
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Sound issues couldn’t lessen Baillio’s committed joy, nor could a segue into Derek Hough’s pitch-perfect intro as the eponymous presenter of The Corny Collins Show.
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A minor one was the show’s habit of making Alicia look clumsy and naïve (to set up a segue into steely efficiency), which in the final season required Ms. Margulies to fumble stacks of file folders and struggle to open classified briefing papers.
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Think of it as an ambient electro soundtrack to the segue from day to night.
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Live, the four men dressed in white, splattered from head-to-toe in blue and green paint, which made for a stunning visual, sure, but their segue from song-to-song and style-to-style was the real surprise.
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.
segue vs segway
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.
Origin and Etymology of segue
see 1segue
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