intersect
Americanverb (used with object)
-
intersects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intersected,
past participle, past
-
intersecting
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
intersects,
present (3rd person singular)
-
intersected,
past participle, past
-
intersecting
present participle
-
to cross, as lines or wires.
-
Geometry. to have one or more points in common.
intersecting lines.
verb
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to divide, cut, or mark off by passing through or across
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(esp of roads) to cross (each other)
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maths (often foll by with) to have one or more points in common (with another configuration)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonintersectingadjective
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self-intersectingadjective
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unintersectedadjective
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unintersectingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
intersectsimple
-
intersectssimple
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have intersectedperfect
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has intersectedperfect
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am intersectingprogressive
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are intersectingprogressive
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is intersectingprogressive
-
have been intersectingperfect progressive
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has been intersectingperfect progressive
Past
-
intersectedsimple
-
had intersectedperfect
-
was intersectingprogressive
-
were intersectingprogressive
-
had been intersectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intersect
1605–15; < Latin intersectus, past participle of intersecāre “to cut through, sever”; see inter- ( def. ), -sect ( def. )
Explanation
When two things intersect, they run into each other, or lie across each other. Your street might intersect with a main avenue, and your life will hopefully intersect with the lives of other interesting people. In geometry, when a line intersects another line, they meet at exactly one point, and when a circle intersects a line, there are two points where they touch each other. When two streets intersect, you get an intersection, where you'll often find a stop sign or traffic signal. The Latin root of intersect is intersectus, "intersect or cut asunder," which combines inter-, "between," and secare, "to cut."
Vocabulary lists containing intersect
This Week in Words: April 1 - 6, 2018
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Algebra
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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.
See Examples For:
My research on how these movements evolve online and intersect with political activists and extremist networks was directly relevant to tracing how COVID-origin claims moved from fringe communities into mainstream political discourse.
From Salon ● Aug. 2, 2026
Our lives are inextricably bound up in giant networks of data that begin, end, and intersect with 6-inch screens we carry around in our pockets.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
In his column, Adam reports on food trends as they intersect with business and culture, from the secret economy behind ramp season to the blood feud between Diet Coke and Coke Zero drinkers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Over the last five years, there has been a significant shift in how fashion and sports intersect, both on and off the court, with athletes’ influence extending beyond the court and into culture at large.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
With Richardson’s curve and the simplest extrapolation for the future growth of the human population, the two curves do not intersect until the thirtieth century or so, and Doomsday is deferred.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
The heightened attention to the substance comes as wellness intersects more deeply with health, and as GLP-1 weight-loss medications alter the way Americans eat.
From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026
More broadly, energy policy intersects with industrial policy in a manner that echoes his China thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Kane said the show would be a great way to celebrate, adding: "What a delightful coincidence that the age of the theatre intersects with the age of our protagonists."
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
I’d never given much thought to ABBA, but as a Vietnamese American who grew up in the ’80s, I’ve become increasingly curious about how the Swedish pop group intersects with the Viet experience.
From Salon ● Dec. 31, 2025
Beneath her fingertips, the miniature rue d’Estrees intersects the miniature rue Vauborel.
From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
The city is built on former marshlands and is intersected by a network of canals, many of them heavily flooded by the rains.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
Police effectively asked Google to look through a vast archive of human movement and identify which lives intersected with a particular patch of pavement at a particular moment in time.
From Slate ● May 20, 2026
She describes their sparkling years of early adulthood, when their lives intersected with an array of luminaries that included Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
I know how they intersected in real life, but when do I show that?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025
The business streets intersected to form the shape of a cross.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
He listens to them, as they navigate their complicated feelings, closely tracking the way their intersecting paths lead them toward incremental revelation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The film’s narrative is scattered across two intersecting timelines that steadily build tension, suspicion and intrigue.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
That is similar to an August case, in which ICE agents attempted to box in a truck in San Bernardino, Calif. In that instance, the driver was able to turn right onto an intersecting street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
This has led to growing interest in gridshells, which use intersecting curved elements of metal, glass or timber to span wide areas without interior supports.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2025
“I shouldn’t have just”—kissed you, my head fills in—“done that. I just—” He glances up, and I watch as he notices the light for the intersecting street turning yellow.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
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.
