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say it: fayz
phase is a noun and verb meaning "any distinct time period in a sequence of events". It is pronounced /ˈfeɪz/ — fayz. It carries 6 recorded senses.
any distinct time period in a sequence of events
“we are in a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be revised or rejected”
(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary
“the reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system”
physical chemistry
a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle
(astronomy) the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination (especially one of the recurring shapes of the part of Earth's moon that is illuminated by the sun)
“the full phase of the moon”
astronomy
adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition
“he phased the intake with the output of the machine”
Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.
Definitions, synonyms and semantic relations for phase come from Princeton University’s WordNet. The pronunciation comes from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. Commonness is measured against a corpus of everyday English. Full sources and licences.