the act or fact of passing across or through; passage from one place to another.
conveyance or transportation from one place to another, as of persons or goods, especially, local public transportation: city transit.Compare mass transit.
a transition or change.
Astronomy.
the passage of a heavenly body across the meridian of a given location or through the field of a telescope.
the passage of Mercury or Venus across the disk of the sun, or of a satellite or its shadow across the face of its primary.
meridian circle.
Astrology. the passage of a planet in aspect to another planet or a specific point in a horoscope.
Surveying.
Also called transit instrument. an instrument, as a theodolite, having a telescope that can be transited, used for measuring horizontal and sometimes vertical angles.
a repeating transit theodolite.
(initial capital letter)U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of satellites for providing positional data to ships and aircraft.
verb (used with object),tran·sit·ed,tran·sit·ing.
to pass across or through.
Surveying. to turn (the telescope of a transit) in a vertical plane in order to reverse direction; plunge.
Astronomy. to cross (a meridian, celestial body, etc.).
verb (used without object),tran·sit·ed,tran·sit·ing.
to pass over or through something; make a transit.
Astronomy. to make a transit across a meridian, celestial body, etc.
Origin of transit
1400–50; late Middle English (noun and v.) <Latin trānsitus a going across, passage, equivalent to trānsi-, variant stem of trānsīre to cross (trāns-trans- + -īre to go) + -tus suffix of v. action
The paperwork was spotless: he had died in transit, the conjunction of a weak heart and long trip.
A Million Ways to Die in Prison|Daniel Genis|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Its method of transit is direct person-to-person contact with body fluids.
The Sham, Scaremongering Guide to Ebola|Abby Haglage|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On top of the $8-10K salary, visa and transit costs will be covered.
$10,000 a Month for Ebola Fighters|Abby Haglage|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Instead of a lock and key, you get “strong encryption to protect evidence data in transit and at rest.”
Your Arrest Video Is Going Online. Who Will See It?|Jacob Siegel|September 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A source tells The Daily Beast that Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) will be the next chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee.
Missouri Rep.To Lead Crucial Highways Subcommittee|Tim Mak|July 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
They travelled rarely, and dwelt close to their work, because swift means of transit had not yet come.
Tales of Space and Time|Herbert George Wells
At the same time he undertook to provide the necessary supplies for its maintenance during the transit.
The Revolt of The Netherlands, Complete|Friedrich Schiller
This was the penalty for making the transit from a lower to a higher civilization.
Tuskegee & Its People: Their Ideals and Achievements|Various
"Run through the apertures uselessly in transit," I think I said last.
Miss Cayley's Adventures|Grant Allen
You see, there will be no waste, no damage in transit, as there always is with wheat and flour.
Father Goriot|Honore de Balzac
British Dictionary definitions for transit
transit
/ (ˈtrænsɪt, ˈtrænz-) /
noun
the passage or conveyance of goods or people
(as modifier)a transit visa
a change or transition
a route
astronomy
the passage of a celestial body or satellite across the face of a relatively larger body as seen from the earth
the apparent passage of a celestial body across the meridian, caused by the earth's diurnal rotation
astrologythe passage of a planet across some special point on the zodiac
in transitwhile being conveyed; during passage
verb
to make a transit through or over (something)
astronomyto make a transit across (a celestial body or the meridian)
to cause (the telescope of a surveying instrument) to turn over or (of such a telescope) to be turned over in a vertical plane so that it points in the opposite direction
Derived forms of transit
transitable, adjective
Word Origin for transit
C15: from Latin transitus a going over, from transīre to pass over; see transient
The passage of a smaller celestial body or its shadow across the disk of a larger celestial body. As observed from Earth, Mercury and Venus are the only planets of the solar system that make transits of the Sun, because they are the only planets with orbits that lie between Earth and the Sun. Mercury makes an average of 13 transits of the Sun each century. Transits of Venus across the Sun are much rarer, with only 7 of them having occurred between 1639 and 2004. In contrast, transits of Jupiter's moons across its disk are common occurrences. Compare occultation.
The passage of a celestial body across the celestial meridian (the great circle on the celestial sphere passing through the celestial poles and an observer's zenith). For any observer, the object is at its highest in the sky at its transit of the observer's meridian. See more at celestial meridian.