First Known Use: 15th century
Dictionary
1transit
noun tran·sit \ˈtran(t)-sət, ˈtran-zət\
: the act of moving people or things from one place to another
Full Definition of TRANSIT
1
a : an act, process, or instance of passing through or over b : change, transition c (1) : conveyance of persons or things from one place to another (2) : usu. local transportation especially of people by public conveyance; also : vehicles or a system engaged in such transportation
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 (as Venus) across the disk of a larger (as the sun)
3
: a theodolite with the telescope mounted so that it can be transited
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Origin of TRANSIT
Middle English transite, from Latin transitus, from transire to go across, pass
2transit
verb
Definition of TRANSIT
intransitive verb : to make a transit
transitive verb
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
First Known Use of TRANSIT
15th century
Related to TRANSIT
- Synonyms
- course, cover, cross, cut (across), follow, go, navigate, pass (over), perambulate, peregrinate, proceed (along), track, traverse, travel
TRANSIT Defined for Kids
transit
noun tran·sit \ˈtran-sət, -zət\
Definition of TRANSIT for Kids
1
: the act of passing through or across <the transit of a satellite's signals>
2
: the act or method of carrying things from one place to another <The goods were lost in transit.>
3
: local transportation of people in public vehicles
4
: a surveyor's instrument for measuring angles
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