bisect
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cut or divide into two equal or nearly equal parts.
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Geometry. to cut or divide into two equal parts.
to bisect an angle.
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to intersect or cross.
the spot where the railroad tracks bisect the highway.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
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(tr) maths to divide into two equal parts
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to cut or split into two
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
bisectsimple
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bisectssimple
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have bisectedperfect
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has bisectedperfect
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am bisectingprogressive
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are bisectingprogressive
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is bisectingprogressive
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have been bisectingperfect progressive
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has been bisectingperfect progressive
Past
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bisectedsimple
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had bisectedperfect
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was bisectingprogressive
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were bisectingprogressive
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had been bisectingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bisect
It Takes Two: Bi
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"A Sound of Thunder" by Ray Bradbury
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The ACT Math Test: Geometry, List 1
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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:
The loss of New York and advance of British troops from Canada threatened to bisect the colonies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
When these acoels reproduce asexually, they first bisect themselves.
From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024
"For your safety, take this next opportunity to move south beyond Wadi Gaza," the military announced, referring to the wetlands that bisect the narrow, coastal territory.
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2023
The alliance’s work is more important than ever as a controversial new train line that will bisect the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve approaches completion.
From New York Times ● Nov. 8, 2022
According to the map this canal should bisect the Wellteco Canal, which will turn south and flow all the way to the ocean.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Mr. Robb’s excellent maps expose their geological foundation: the limestone belt that bisects England from the upper right to the lower left.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
H. dorsalis hails from the mountains of Northern Borneo and features a conspicuous dark stripe that begins atop its head and bisects its back before fading around mid-body.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023
He admitted it was a "very lucky" finish to his round after his drive bounced out of the creek that bisects the 18th fairway.
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2023
One summer evening as the sun sank behind the Dnipro River, the mammoth waterway that bisects Ukraine, Anatolii Volkov walked along a river beach, head down.
From New York Times ● Aug. 4, 2023
He stands beneath the tree that bisects the middle of the loft.
From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel
“It’s right here,” glaciologist Alison Criscitiello says, pointing to a nearly invisible gray smudge behind the glass, on a 5-foot-long, 1,550-year-old bisected cylinder of ice.
From Slate ● May 8, 2026
An Instagram account with millions of views shows a woman in swimsuits and gymwear whose body is bisected by vitiligo so she is exactly half white and half brown.
From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026
The commuters in “Le Métro” hark back to his early streetcar scenes but now there’s an air of mystery to the straphangers, with the central figure’s face obscured and bisected by a subway pole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
Then came the quick flips with baggage, bisected by easements or on shaky foundations.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
He was conflicted about what he was seeing, a refracted version of his city, one where homes and trees were bisected and mirrored in this oddly calm body of water.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Humanitarian workers have to carry out special co-ordination to cross the Israeli military zone bisecting the territory.
From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025
As leaders of Seattle’s ethnic-business communities, we remember the sweeping impacts of past infrastructure decisions, whether it was highways bisecting or leveling communities of color, or leaving neighborhoods under served and underdeveloped.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
Ms. Ibarra’s route to the dialysis center is a slice of Central Valley life, bisecting miles of pistachio and almond orchards, and cotton fields shedding fluff along the shoulders.
From New York Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
By bisecting a tusk and examining the many chemical layers within, Wooller and his collaborators began a first-of-its-kind analysis: they mapped the travels of the tusk’s owner 17,000 years after it died.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 9, 2021
It was a Benz, an unusual car in this neighborhood, blue with a thick white stripe bisecting the hood, the roof, and the trunk.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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.
