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transit

Transit means “journey,” and saying you’re "in transit" means you’re on your way somewhere. Before we had cell phones, one of the upsides of being in transit was that no one could get in touch with you.

Transit may be familiar to you from the phrase mass transit. While it sometimes seems like “mass transit” is synonymous with “unreliable, crowded and inefficient,” the phrase just means "public transportation." The first instance of transit being used in this sense was in the 19th century, and people have been complaining ever since. Transit is related to the word transition, which refers to a change from one state or condition to another.

PRIMARY MEANINGS OF: transit

1
 nv
a journey usually by ship
make a passage or journey from one place to another
2
 nv
a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small telescope mounted on a tripod
revolve (the telescope of a surveying transit) about its horizontal transverse axis in order to reverse its direction
FULL DEFINITIONS OF: transit
1

n a journey usually by ship

Synonyms:
passage
Types:
lockage
passage through a lock in a canal or waterway
Type of:
journey, journeying
the act of traveling from one place to another

n a facility consisting of the means and equipment necessary for the movement of passengers or goods

Synonyms:
transportation, transportation system
Types:
show 7 types...
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air transportation system
a transportation system for moving passengers or goods by air
highway system
a transportation system consisting of roads for motor transport
public transit
a public transportation system for moving passengers
short line
a transportation system that operates over relatively short distances
telferage, telpherage
a transportation system in which cars (telphers) are suspended from cables and operated on electricity
hub-and-spoke, hub-and-spoke system
a system of air transportation in which local airports offer air transportation to a central airport where long-distance flights are available
mass rapid transit, rapid transit
an urban public transit system using underground or elevated trains
Type of:
facility, installation
a building or place that provides a particular service or is used for a particular industry

v make a passage or journey from one place to another

Synonyms:
move through, pass across, pass over, pass through
Types:
cut
pass through or across
Type of:
go across, go through, pass
go across or through

v pass across (a sign or house of the zodiac) or pass across (the disk of a celestial body or the meridian of a place)

“The comet will transit on September 11”
Type of:
go across, go through, pass
go across or through

v cause or enable to pass through

“The canal will transit hundreds of ships every day”
Synonyms
move through, pass across, pass over, pass through
make a passage or journey from one place to another
Type of:
bring, convey, take
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
2

n a surveying instrument for measuring horizontal and vertical angles, consisting of a small telescope mounted on a tripod

Synonyms:
theodolite
Types:
tacheometer, tachymeter
a theodolite designed for rapid measurements
Type of:
surveying instrument, surveyor's instrument
an instrument used by surveyors

v revolve (the telescope of a surveying transit) about its horizontal transverse axis in order to reverse its direction

Type of:
revolve, roll
cause to move by turning over or in a circular manner of as if on an axis
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