collide
Americanverb (used without object)
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collides,
present (3rd person singular)
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collided,
past participle, past
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colliding
present participle
verb (used with object)
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collides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
collided,
past participle, past
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colliding
present participle
verb
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to crash together with a violent impact
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to conflict in attitude, opinion, or desire; clash; disagree
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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collidesimple
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collidessimple
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have collidedperfect
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has collidedperfect
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am collidingprogressive
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are collidingprogressive
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is collidingprogressive
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have been collidingperfect progressive
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has been collidingperfect progressive
Past
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collidedsimple
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had collidedperfect
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was collidingprogressive
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were collidingprogressive
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had been collidingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of collide
1615–25; < Latin collīdere to strike together, equivalent to col- col- 1 + -līdere, combining form of laedere to strike
Explanation
It could be protons bouncing around in a particle accelerator, two cars failing to stop at an intersection, or the priorities of two people with very different goals. When things crash together, they collide. The verb collide has roots in the Latin word collidere, which comes from col- or “together” and laedere, “to strike or damage," like planes that collide in midair. Collide can also describe ideas that clash, such as expectations that collide with reality or radical views that collide with tradition.
Vocabulary lists containing collide
Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Introductory
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Force and Motion (Mechanics) - Introductory
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Conservation of Energy and Energy Transfer - Middle School
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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:
Dillon Amaya, an oceanographer at North Carolina State University, said the elevated sea levels could collide with other natural phenomena to create problems for coastal communities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 2, 2026
Political leaders collide with reality sooner or later, and new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first collision arrived this week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
Any situation involving many objects that collide while being pushed by an unpredictable force could behave in a similar way.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
These trends collide with longstanding financial advice for 20- and 30-somethings: Sock away funds for a down payment and buy a house, both as a place to live and as your main source of wealth.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
The present generation of particle accelerators can collide particles at energies of about one hundred GeV, and machines are planned that would raise this to a few thousand GeV.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Yet drug development is also where AI collides with the stubborn reality of human biology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
At 1-1, Roberto Carlos' seemingly harmless cross was lofted high into the Hampden Park sky, destined to drop where D and penalty box chalk collides.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
On another level, though, Pitchford is about what happens when that principle collides with the punishing procedural architecture of modern postconviction review.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2026
When a large meteor collides with Earth, it produces intense heat that melts surrounding rock.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
As I turn away, I see Madge jostle Jax, who then collides into Deb-and-Kiki.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
A couple have spoken of their relief to be rescued after a sperm whale collided with their yacht.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
According to this idea, a Mars-sized body called Theia collided with the early Earth.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 11, 2026
DHS said the post depicted Harjinder Singh, an Indian truck driver accused of causing a fatal crash last year that left three people dead after his 18-wheeler collided with their minivan in Florida.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
So defensive back Kennedy Urlacher came flying into the backfield and collided into Bulldogs quarterback Jayden Mandal, who fell out of the back of the end zone for a safety.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 5, 2026
He turned a corner sharply and nearly collided with two men clad in blue.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
The U.S. push to devote more military resources to the Arctic is colliding with competing demands elsewhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
“The AI buildout is colliding with a grid that cannot deliver power fast enough,” Morgan Stanley’s Andrew Percoco wrote in a separate report on Tuesday.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
They give the example of amateur footballer Ben Hiscox, who died in 2015 after colliding with a clubhouse near Bristol.
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026
Unlike Earth, the Moon has virtually no atmospheric layer, so space debris does not slow down or burn up before colliding with the surface.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
I should be used to my two worlds colliding, but I never know which Starr I should be.
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
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.
