transient: Meaning and Definition of

tran•sient

Pronunciation: (tran'shunt, -zhunt, -zē-unt), [key]
— adj.
  1. not lasting, enduring, or permanent; transitory.
  2. lasting only a short time; existing briefly; temporary: transient authority.
  3. staying only a short time: the transient guests at a hotel.
  4. transeunt.
—n.
  1. a person or thing that is transient, esp. a temporary guest, boarder, laborer, or the like.
    1. a function that tends to zero as the independent variable tends to infinity.
    2. a solution, esp. of a differential equation, having this property.
    1. a nonperiodic signal of short duration.
    2. a decaying signal, wave, or oscillation.
  2. a sudden pulse of voltage or current.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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