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
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intersectsimple
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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
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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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Geometry - Introductory
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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:
Edmonds and Frahm ask: "What and who determined a king's 'canonicity'? How did this intersect with Assyrian cultural memory or notions of kingship? Was the AKL's function at all practical, or solely ceremonial?"
From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026
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
When the Sun, Earth and Moon align near one of the points where their orbital paths intersect, eclipse seasons occur, producing both solar and lunar eclipses within a matter of weeks.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The two ivy- covered walls on either side of him seemed to intersect with nothing but sky up ahead.
From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner
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
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
Paul W. Downs can’t help it that even on the weekends, his life intersects with “Hacks,” the HBO comedy he co-created and co-showruns with his wife, Lucia Aniello, and their friend Jen Statsky.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
That’s where the similarity, if there is any, intersects.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026
The main street intersects with other streets in midair that lead from windowsill to windowsill, connecting the impossible.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
The rare docuseries that’s too short, each episode favors breadth over depth but does reveal how sports increasingly intersected with American culture and politics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 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
Elsbeth creator Jonathan Tolins says the script was always planned to be bold, and though real life intersected in uncanny ways, the episode wasn’t rewritten to reflect it.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2025
The driver pulled up to a narrow building at a busy corner where two winding streets intersected.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
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
And just the all the intersecting dynamics of that, I found it really exciting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
The Line isn’t a single line but many, diverging and intersecting.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
