segue

American  

[sey-gwey, seg-wey] / ˈseɪ gweɪ, ˈsɛg weɪ /

verb (used without object)

segued, segueing

1. to continue at once with the next musical section or composition (often used as a musical direction).

2. to perform in the manner of the preceding section (used as a musical direction).

3. to make a transition from one thing to another smoothly and without interruption.

   The conversation segued from travel anecdotes to food.

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noun

1. an uninterrupted transition made between one musical section or composition and another.

2. any smooth, uninterrupted transition from one thing to another.

segue British  

/ ˈsɛɡweɪ /

verb

1. (often foll by into) to proceed from one section or piece of music to another without a break

2. (imperative) play on without pause: a musical direction

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noun

1. the practice or an instance of playing music in this way

Etymology

Origin of segue

First recorded in 1850–55; from Italian: “(it) follows, (there) follows,” 3rd-person singular present of seguire “to follow,” ultimately from Latin sequī; see sue

Explanation

A segue is a smooth transition. When you segue in conversation, you change the topic so smoothly that people might not even notice. A good speaker knows how to segue: they can get from one topic to another so easily that you hardly notice the topic changed. Comedians have the same skill as they segue from one joke to another, and politicians also learn the art of the segue. So do teachers. This is also a term in music for moving from one part of a piece to another. Remember that segue does not sound quite how it looks: it's pronounced "SEG-way."

Example Sentences

I feel like “Wild Ride” was a great way to kind of segue out of coming from “Bloom,” even though this is still a continuation of that, I wanted to showcase something a little different.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

That’s as fine a segue as any to acknowledging Glaser’s fine handling of “Heated Rivalry” stars Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams’ charming Globes debut.

From Salon • Jan. 12, 2026

They segue to a holiday market full of happy European Union habitants.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 19, 2025

But just when the central characters’ fascinating messiness achieves peak interest, you realize this movie’s earnest commercial shimmer is never going to segue into a denser, darker poetry.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025

For Caesar, this is a natural place to segue into all the ways we did get hurt in the arena, from burns, to stings, to wounds.

From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Related Words

• continuation