bisect

American  

[bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt] / baɪˈsɛkt, ˈbaɪ sɛkt, ˈbaɪ sɛkt /

verb (used with object)

1. to cut or divide into two equal or nearly equal parts.

2. Geometry. to cut or divide into two equal parts.

   to bisect an angle.

3. to intersect or cross.

   the spot where the railroad tracks bisect the highway.

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verb (used without object)

1. to split into two, as a road; fork.

   There's a charming old inn just before the road bisects.

noun

1. Also called split.  Philately. a portion of a stamp, usually half, used for payment of a proportionate amount of the face value of the whole stamp.

bisect British  

/ baɪˈsɛkt, baɪˈsɛkʃən /

verb

1. (tr) maths to divide into two equal parts

2. to cut or split into two

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bisect Scientific  

/ bī′sĕkt′,bī-sĕkt′ /

1. To cut or divide into two parts, especially two equal parts.

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Other Word Forms

• bisection
  noun
• bisectional
  adjective
• bisectionally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of bisect

1640–50; bi- ¹ + -sect < Latin sectus, past participle of secāre to cut, sever; see section

Explanation

When you cut something in half or in two pieces, you bisect it. You can bisect a cupcake so that you and a friend get equal pieces. In Latin, bi means "two" and secare means "to cut." That's why the verb bisect means "divide into two equal pieces." You might bisect your garden, planting half with vegetables and half with flowers, or tape a line on your bedroom floor to bisect the space into two sides — yours and your horrible sister's. In geometry, the word bisect means the same thing, to split something into equal halves.

Example Sentences

Bisect this Square, by two lines drawn from the Corners.

From In Her Own Right by Underwood, Clarence F.

Bisect this base, and from the middle point draw a line at right angles to the base and towards the German lines.

From Fields of Victory by Ward, Humphry, Mrs.

Bisect the crease, and place a point 3⁄8 of an inch up from the crease.

From Text Books of Art Education, Book IV (of 7) by Froehlich, Hugo B.

And thus, to prayers and protests deaf, Bisect the Empire.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, July 30, 1892 by Various

Bisect these distances, and these again, till you have a very close row of tacks, as in Fig.

From Golden Days for Boys and Girls Volume VIII, No 25: May 21, 1887 by Elverson, James

Related Words

• cut across