phase

Noun

• (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
    

• a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle

• (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
    

• 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
    

Verb

• adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition
  • he phased the intake with the output of the machine
    

• arrange in phases or stages
  • phase a withdrawal
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  phase angle , form , stage