intercourse
Americannoun
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sexual intercourse, especially coitus.
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dealings or communication between individuals, groups, countries, etc.
- Synonyms:
- traffic, trade, commerce, sexual relations, sex act, sex, relations, copulation
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interchange of thoughts, feelings, etc.
noun
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communication or exchange between individuals; mutual dealings
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of intercourse
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English intercurse, from Medieval Latin intercursus “communication, trading,” Latin “a running between, interposition”; see inter-, course
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
These two were having intercourse, in the old-fashioned sense of the word.
From Salon • Feb. 9, 2025
She followed all the old wives’ tales—including “drugging” her husband with supplements, timing intercourse, and eating acidic foods—in an attempt to maximize the odds that her third child would be a daughter.
From Slate • May 7, 2024
Emergency contraception - including emergency contraceptive pills and copper-bearing intrauterine devices - can prevent about 95% of pregnancies when taken within five days of intercourse, the WHO says.
From BBC • May 31, 2023
The WHO defines infertility as a disease of the male or female reproductive system that is defined by the failure to achieve a pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse.
From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2023
“Should our whole intercourse consist of an exchange of compliments? Ma foi!”
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
