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bisect

[verb bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt; noun bahy-sekt]
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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.
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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.
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Origin of bisect

1640–50; bi-1 + -sect < Latin sectus, past participle of secāre to cut, sever; see section
Related formsbi·sec·tion, nounbi·sec·tion·al, adjectivebi·sec·tion·al·ly, adverb
Can be confusedbisect dissect
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for bisection

breakup, distribution, fraction, division, partition, rift, breaking, divergence, departure, crossroads, break, detachment, going, farewell, split, valediction, rupture, severance, adieu, leave-taking

Examples from the Web for bisection

Historical Examples of bisection

British Dictionary definitions for bisection

bisect

verb
  1. (tr) maths to divide into two equal parts
  2. to cut or split into two
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Derived Formsbisection (baɪˈsɛkʃən), noun

Word Origin for bisect

C17: bi- 1 + -sect from Latin secāre to cut
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for bisection

n.

"division in two," 1650s, noun of state from bisect. Related: Bisectional.

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bisect

v.

"to cut in two," 1640s, from Modern Latin bisectus, from Latin bi- "two" (see bi-) + secare "to cut" (see section (n.)). Related: Bisected; bisecting.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
bisection in Science

bisect

[bī′sĕkt′, bī-sĕkt′]
  1. To cut or divide into two parts, especially two equal parts.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.