phase: Meaning and Definition of

phase

Pronunciation: (fāz), [key]
— n., v., phased, phas•ing.
—n.
  1. any of the major appearances or aspects in which a thing of varying modes or conditions manifests itself to the eye or mind.
  2. a stage in a process of change or development: Each phase of life brings its own joys.
  3. a side, aspect, or point of view: This is only one phase of the question.
  4. a state of synchronous operation: to put two mechanisms in phase.
  5. the phases of the moon.
    1. the particular appearance presented by the moon or a planet at a given time.
    2. one of the recurring appearances or states of the moon or a planet in respect to the form, or the absence, of its illuminated disk:the phases of the moon.See diag. undermoon.
  6. See
  7. a mechanically separate, homogeneous part of a heterogeneous system: the solid, liquid, and gaseous phases of a system.
  8. a particular stage or point of advancement in a cycle; the fractional part of the period through which the time has advanced, measured from some arbitrary origin often expressed as an anglethe entire period being taken as 360°.
—v.t.
  1. to schedule or order so as to be available when or as needed.
  2. to put in phase; synchronize: to phase one mechanism with another.
  3. to reduce by gradual stages.
  4. to put or come into use gradually; incorporate by degrees: to phase in new machinery.
  5. to bring or come to an end gradually; ease out of service: to phase out obsolescent machinery.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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