phase
phase
(fāz) noun
Abbr. ph.
1.
A distinct stage of development: "The American occupation of Japan fell into three successive phases" (Edwin O. Reischauer).
2.
A temporary manner, attitude, or pattern of behavior: just a passing phase.
3.
An aspect; a part: every phase of the operation.
4.
Astronomy. One of the cyclically recurring apparent forms of the moon or a planet.
5. Physics. a. A particular stage in a periodic process or phenomenon. b. The fraction of a complete cycle elapsed as measured from a specified reference point and often expressed as an angle.
6. Chemistry. a. Any of the forms or states, solid, liquid, gas, or plasma, in which matter can exist, depending on temperature and pressure. b. A discrete homogeneous part of a material system that is mechanically separable from the rest, as is ice from water.
7. Biology. A characteristic form, appearance, or stage of development that occurs in a cycle or that distinguishes some individuals of a group: the white color phase of a weasel; the swarming phase of locusts.
verb
, transitive
phased, phasing, phases
1.
To plan or carry out systematically by phases.
2.
To set or regulate so as to be synchronized.
phrasal verb.
phase in
To introduce, one stage at a time. phase out
To bring or come to an end, one stage at a time.
idiom.
in phase
In a correlated or synchronized way.
out of phase
In an unsynchronized or uncorrelated way.
[Back-formation from New Latin phasēs, phases of the moon, from Greek pl. of phasis, appearance, from phainein, to show.]
pha
ʹsic (fāʹzĭk) adjective
Synonyms:
phase, aspect, facet, angle, side. These nouns refer to a particular or possible way of viewing something, such as an object, a situation, or a process. Phase may denote a change in an object itself rather than in the viewpoint of an observer (an ermine in its winter color phase), but the term also refers to a stage or period of change or development: "A phase of my life was closing tonight, a new one opening tomorrow" (Charlotte Brontë). Aspect is the way something appears to an observer at a specific vantage point: "In our description of nature the purpose is . . . to track down . . . relations between the manifold aspects of our experience" (Niels Bohr). A facet is one of numerous aspects, as of a problem: studying the many facets of life in manufacturing towns after the Industrial Revolution. Angle suggests a limitation of perspective, frequently with emphasis on the observer's own point of view: an account of the causes of World War II from the angle of the Allies. Side refers to something having two or more parts or aspects: "Much might be said on both sides" (Joseph Addison).