- 1 a stage in a process of change or development during the first/next/last phase the initial/final phase of the project a critical/decisive phase the design phase His anxiety about the work was just a passing phase. She's going through a difficult phase. The wedding marked the beginning of a new phase in Emma's life. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectiveearly, first, initial, … verb + phasebegin, enter, initiate, … prepositionduring a/the phase, in a/the phase, phase in, … See full entry
- 2each of the shapes of the moon as we see it from the earth at different times of the month the phases of the moon Word Originearly 19th cent. (in sense (2)): from French phase, based on Greek phasis ‘appearance’, from the base of phainein ‘to show’.Extra examples In the earliest phase of mental disorder, relatives feel confused. It’s just a phase he’s going through. Society has entered a technological phase of evolution. The co-op is still in the start-up phase. The period can be divided into three distinct phases. The process is still in its testing phase. a calendar highlighting the phases of the moon a new phase in the European economy as the team reaches the later phases of product development during the planning phase of an operation early in the project’s design phase the acute phase of the disease the main Catholic rituals that mark important phases in a person’s life His anxiety about the work was just a passing phase. Most teenagers go through a difficult phase. The basic idea is elaborated during the design phase. The initial phase of the project will last six months. The wedding marked the beginning of a new phase in Emma’s life. We are now entering a critical phase of the campaign.Idioms
(British English) working/not working together in the right way The traffic lights were out of phase.
Check pronunciation: phase
