tran·sit
ˈtran(t)-sət 
ˈtran-zət
ˈtran-zət
1
a(1)
: conveyance of persons or things from one place to another
(2)
: usually local transportation especially of people by public conveyance
also
: vehicles or a system engaged in such transportation
b
: an act, process, or instance of passing through or over
c
: change, transition
2
a
: passage of a celestial body over the meridian of a place or through the field of a telescope
b
: passage of a smaller body (such as Venus) across the disk of a larger (such as the sun)
3
: a theodolite with the telescope mounted so that it can be transited
transited; transiting; transits
: to make a transit
1
a
: to pass over or through
b
: to cause to pass over or through
2
: to pass across (a meridian, a celestial body, or the field of view of a telescope)
3
: to turn (a telescope) over about the horizontal transverse axis in surveying
Synonyms
Examples of transit in a Sentence
Noun
the problems of urban transit
Verb
once you transit that stretch of dense woods, the hiking should be much easier
Recent Examples on the Web
Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
However, the county continues to face old challenges in the form of transit's lagging ridership and its ongoing capital backlog.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
Cook and his men were supposed to watch the transit from Tahiti, which the British had recently claimed.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is exploring a new transit program to help students and teachers get to school.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 29 Mar. 2024
Getty Peru's Sacred Valley For the more than 1.5 million travelers who visit Machu Picchu every year, a simpler transit option will be available starting in 2026: Chinchero airport, located smack dab in Peru’s Sacred Valley.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Mar. 2024
This fiber comes from the husks of Plantago ovata plant seeds, which form a gel with water, adding soft bulk to improve stool form, passage, and transit.
—Suzanne Finkel, Verywell Health, 25 Mar. 2024
Pierre Augustine, a Brooklyn, New York, resident, told ABC News that his perception of crime is not based on the statistics showing crime in the New York City transit system fell 2.6% in 2023 compared to 2022.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2024
Kelly recently said that the hope is that the state’s high-speed rail will eventually integrate with the Brightline rail, potentially filling a transit gap between stations.
—Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Greg Norman, Fox News, 29 Mar. 2024
The voyage then continues to India and the Middle East — current plans call for visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — before transiting the Suez Canal.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
That means much more simplified travel for international visitors, who would previously have to transit through the small town of Kangerlussuaq.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Mar. 2024
But instead of transiting the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to reach its destination within a few days, the ship diverted around the Cape of Good Hope.
—Noam Raydan, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2024
Their attacks have raised insurance costs for commercial ships, which transit the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2024
Israel has been carrying out security checks on goods entering its own crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom but also on goods that passed through Israeli crossings before transiting onto Egypt’s entry point into Gaza, the Rafah crossing.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024
In October, El Salvador began charging $1,130 for citizens of 57 largely African countries and India transiting the country’s airport.
—Baba Ahmed, Quartz, 2 Mar. 2024
In 2023, more than 56,000 people from Africa transited through Colombia, according to migration data.
—Annie Correal Federico Rios, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Her allies on the Democratic side of the County Commission complained about the lack of transit projects in Levine Cava’s plan to invest in parks, housing and projects to reduce groundwater pollution and prevent flooding.
—Douglas Hanks, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
However, the county continues to face old challenges in the form of transit's lagging ridership and its ongoing capital backlog.
—Alison Dirr, Journal Sentinel, 3 Apr. 2024
Cook and his men were supposed to watch the transit from Tahiti, which the British had recently claimed.
—Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 1 Apr. 2024
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is exploring a new transit program to help students and teachers get to school.
—Rebecca Noel, Charlotte Observer, 29 Mar. 2024
Getty Peru's Sacred Valley For the more than 1.5 million travelers who visit Machu Picchu every year, a simpler transit option will be available starting in 2026: Chinchero airport, located smack dab in Peru’s Sacred Valley.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Mar. 2024
This fiber comes from the husks of Plantago ovata plant seeds, which form a gel with water, adding soft bulk to improve stool form, passage, and transit.
—Suzanne Finkel, Verywell Health, 25 Mar. 2024
Pierre Augustine, a Brooklyn, New York, resident, told ABC News that his perception of crime is not based on the statistics showing crime in the New York City transit system fell 2.6% in 2023 compared to 2022.
—Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 22 Mar. 2024
Kelly recently said that the hope is that the state’s high-speed rail will eventually integrate with the Brightline rail, potentially filling a transit gap between stations.
—Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Verb
The militant group has been launching attacks on ships transiting the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war last October, disrupting shipping in the region.
—Greg Norman, Fox News, 29 Mar. 2024
The voyage then continues to India and the Middle East — current plans call for visits to Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates — before transiting the Suez Canal.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 27 Mar. 2024
That means much more simplified travel for international visitors, who would previously have to transit through the small town of Kangerlussuaq.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Mar. 2024
But instead of transiting the Suez Canal and the Red Sea to reach its destination within a few days, the ship diverted around the Cape of Good Hope.
—Noam Raydan, Foreign Affairs, 6 Feb. 2024
Their attacks have raised insurance costs for commercial ships, which transit the Red Sea en route to the Suez Canal.
—Tom Vanden Brook, USA TODAY, 12 Jan. 2024
Israel has been carrying out security checks on goods entering its own crossing into Gaza, Kerem Shalom but also on goods that passed through Israeli crossings before transiting onto Egypt’s entry point into Gaza, the Rafah crossing.
—Niamh Kennedy, CNN, 9 Mar. 2024
In October, El Salvador began charging $1,130 for citizens of 57 largely African countries and India transiting the country’s airport.
—Baba Ahmed, Quartz, 2 Mar. 2024
In 2023, more than 56,000 people from Africa transited through Colombia, according to migration data.
—Annie Correal Federico Rios, New York Times, 29 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'transit.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near transit
Cite this Entry
“Transit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transit. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
transit
1 of 2 noun
tran·sit
ˈtran(t)s-ət
ˈtranz-
ˈtranz-
1
: an act, process, or example of passing through or over : passage
2
: the transporting of persons or things from one place to another
goods lost in transit
3
: local transportation of people in public vehicles
also
: the vehicles or system used in such transportation
4
: a surveyor's instrument for measuring angles
transit
2 of 2 verb
: to pass or cause to pass over, through, or across
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