TRANSIT


Meaning of TRANSIT in English

I. ˈtran(t)sə̇t, ˈtraan-, -nzə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V noun

( -s )

Etymology: Latin transitus, from transitus, past participle of transire to go across, pass — more at transient

1.

a. : an act, process, or instance of passing or journeying across, through, or over : journey , passage

the transit of so vast a body through Roman territory could not but be dangerous — J.A.Froude

the transit of radio signals from the earth to the moon and back — J.W.Townsend

a fine case study of the transit of ideas from Europe to America — R.E.Riegel

our transit across the little span of life — W.L.Sullivan

b. : passage across : change , transition

to bolster morale … in the transit from war to peace — Dixon Wecter

the transit from fall to winter, from this life to the next

c.

(1) : the conveyance or carriage of persons or things from one place to another

pigeons were used to provide the fastest transit for written messages — W.G.East

there were also commissions … on communications and transit — C.E.Black & E.C.Helmreich

uses all modes of transit to ship his products

(2) : the transportation especially of people by means of bus, subway train, or other usually local system of public conveyance

the problems of urban transit are complex

— compare rapid transit ; also : the system, vehicles, or facilities engaged in such transportation

within easy reach are … schools, shopping centers, and transit — advt

85 out of 100 shoppers … arrived there by transit , as against nine out of 100 by auto — Sam Stavisky

2. : the passing of a planet across or through any special point or place on the zodiac

3.

a. : the passage of a celestial body over the meridian of a place or through the field of a telescope — called also culmination

b. : the passage of a smaller body across the disk of a larger (as of Venus or Mercury across the sun's disk)

4. or transit compass : a variety of theodolite with the telescope mounted so that it can be transited — called also transit theodolite

- in transit

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

intransitive verb

1. : to go over or through : pass

ships use the canal to transit to the west

to steer to a destination through which the line transited — David Beaty

2. : to make a transit across a meridian, a celestial body, or the field of view of a telescope

expects the planet to transit shortly after midnight

transitive verb

1.

a. : to pass over or through : cross , traverse

transited La Perouse strait on the surface at night — E.L.Beach

from San Juan to Guantánamo Bay you transit the windward passage — Lee Rogow

b. : to cause to pass over or through : convey

the canal … can be operated around the clock to transit a total of 36 ships daily — Ships and the Sea

2. : to pass across (a meridian, a celestial body, or the field of view of a telescope)

3. : to turn (a telescope) over about its horizontal transverse axis in surveying

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.