collision

[kuh-lizh-uhn]

noun

1. the act of colliding; a coming violently into contact; crash.

   the collision of two airplanes.

2. a clash; conflict.

   a collision of purposes.

3. Physics.,  the meeting of particles or of bodies in which each exerts a force upon the other, causing the exchange of energy or momentum.

collision

/ kəˈlɪʒən /

noun

1. a violent impact of moving objects; crash

2. the conflict of opposed ideas, wishes, attitudes, etc

   a collision of interests

3. physics an event in which two or more bodies or particles come together with a resulting change of direction and, normally, energy

Other Word Forms

• collisional adjective
• anticollision adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin collīsiōn- (stem of collīsiō ), equivalent to collīs ( us ) (past participle of collīdere to collide ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

C15: from Late Latin collīsiō from Latin collīdere to _collide

Example Sentences

The cause of the collision is under investigation by Metrolink’s safety, security and compliance department.

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Whether an asteroid is spinning neatly on its axis or tumbling chaotically, and how fast it is doing so, has been shown to be dependent on how frequently it has experienced collisions.

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A young boy, who was her passenger, was also taken to hospital after the collision in June 2023.

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Five years later it was one of the largest firms in Yugoslavia and on a collision course with Marshal Tito, country's communist dictator.

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The blackout comes a month after YouTube avoided a collision with Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp.

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