intersection

American  

[in-ter-sek-shuhn] / ˌɪn tərˈsɛk ʃən /

noun

• intersections
  plural

1. 

   a place where two or more roads meet, especially when at least one is a major highway; junction.

   Synonyms:

   corner, crossing

2. any place of intersection or the act or fact of intersecting.

3. Mathematics.

   1. Also called meet, product. the set of elements that two or more sets have in common. ∩

   2. the greatest lower bound of two elements in a lattice.

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intersection British  

/ ˌɪntəˈsɛkʃən, ˈɪntəˌsɛk- /

noun

1. a point at which things intersect, esp a road junction

2. the act of intersecting or the state of being intersected

3. maths

   1. a point or set of points common to two or more geometric configurations

   2. Also called: product. the set of elements that are common to two sets

   3. the operation that yields that set from a pair of given sets. Symbol: ∩, as in A ∩ B

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intersection Scientific  

/ ĭn′tər-sĕk′shən /

1. The point or set of points where one line, surface, or solid crosses another.

2. The set that contains only those elements shared by two or more sets. The intersection of the sets {3,4,5,6} and {4,6,8,10} is the set {4,6}. The symbol for intersection is .

3. Compare union

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intersectional
  adjective
• nonintersectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• intersections
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of intersection

First recorded in 1550–60, intersection is from the Latin word intersectiōn- (stem of intersectiō ). See intersect, -ion

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Explanation

An intersection is a point where two lines or streets cross. There are two places you're most likely to find intersections: in math class and in traffic. In math, an intersection is the spot where two lines cross. Those lines share this common point. The center of the letter X is an intersection. The same is true for streets: the intersection of Clark and Huron is where those streets cross. From the intersection, you can choose to travel down either street. When you're trying to get somewhere, it's helpful to know the major intersections.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

intersection intersections

Another incident took place inside Pershing Square and one happened outside downtown near the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

The incident took place around 5:15 p.m. near the intersection of South Centinela and Mitchell avenues, said Officer Charles Miller, a spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

The company sits at the intersection of two of the market’s main themes: the durability of AI spending and a recent concentration in market leadership, Jake Behan, Direxion’s head of capital markets, told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 27, 2026

"Working at the intersection of quantum simulation and high-energy physics is incredibly exciting," said Arinjoy De, first author on the paper, former PhD student in Monroe's lab and now production machine lead at QuEra Computing.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026

Holding on to the truck’s side, Lupita watched as they lurched to the next intersection.

From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty

Well, I mean, there are a lot of intersections of opportunities for Elon Musk, and I also think he discovered, to use a phrase of his, the anomaly in the matrix for the American system.

From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2026

Officials have completed road improvements along the detour route and will deploy traffic control officers at 18 key intersections during the bridge’s full closure.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026

Nope, that’s the way it goes to avoid busy intersections, construction and certain left turns.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

These intersections play an important role in many reactions triggered by light because they allow energy to move rapidly between electronic and structural motion.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 30, 2026

They peeked at passersby from behind stacked sandbags at intersections.

From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini

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Related Words

• crossing
• interchange
• junction

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