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
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
Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The government closed its main border crossing with Pakistan, effectively cutting a crucial transit point for people and goods.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Where will the cruises go? ▶ Guests aboard Zaandam will transit the Panama Canal before traveling along the west coast of South America.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for transit
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Metro’s plans ahead of the Olympics include an expansion of its transit network that would depend heavily on bus use, more bus priority lanes and faster speeds.
—Colleen Shalby, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
The government closed its main border crossing with Pakistan, effectively cutting a crucial transit point for people and goods.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
The Shandong's deployment in the waters east of the Philippines confirmed that the Chinese aircraft carrier had transited the Luzon Strait, located between southern Taiwan and northern Philippines, connecting the South China Sea in the west and the Philippine Sea in the east.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Where will the cruises go? ▶ Guests aboard Zaandam will transit the Panama Canal before traveling along the west coast of South America.
—Nathan Diller, USA Today, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for transit
Cite this Entry
“Transit.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transit. Accessed 29 Apr. 2025.
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
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share