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| phase [ fayz ] |
noun (plural phas·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. stage of development: a clearly distinguishable period or stage in a process, in the development of something, or in a sequence of events
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2. pattern of behavior: a period of time when a situation or particular pattern of behavior persists and is often annoying or worrying
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3. part or aspect: one of the many parts or aspects of something
  We needed to restructure all phases of our business.
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4. astronomy recurring shape of moon: a recurring form of the Moon or a planet seen in the sky. The four principal phases of the Moon are the first quarter, full moon, last quarter, and new moon.
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5. physics part of repeating cycle: a part of a repeated uniform pattern of occurrence of a phenomenon or process, relative to a fixed starting point or time
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6. physics state of matter: a state in which matter can exist, depending on temperature and pressure, e.g. the solid, liquid, gaseous, and plasmatic states
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7. zoology variation in animal form: an alternate stage, appearance, or coloring that distinguishes a group of animals from most of their kind, or that an animal adopts under specific conditions
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8. biology stage in life cycle: a stage in the life cycle of an organism
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transitive verb (past and past participle phased, present participle phas·ing, 3rd person present singular phas·es) |
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| Definition: |
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1. do something in stages: to plan or arrange something so that it is carried out in stages
(
often passive
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a takeover that is being phased to minimize disruption
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2. synchronize things: to cause two or more things to happen or operate simultaneously or in a coordinated way
to phase the departure of one train with the arrival of another
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| [Early 19th century. Partly via French< modern Latin phasis; partly back-formation <phases, plural of phasis "phase," via modern Latin< Greek, "appearance" < phainein "to show"] |
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| pha·sic adjective |
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in phase in the same phase at the same time, or operating in a synchronized or coordinated way
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out of phase not in the same phase, or not synchronized or coordinated with each other
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