collide
Americanverb (used without object)
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collides,
present (3rd person singular)
-
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
-
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:
When these charged particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen, photons of coloured light are emitted - this is the aurora.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
My cars didn’t run any red lights, collide with another car or take off with my suitcase still in the trunk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
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
And with so much hinging on the AI put, any loss of confidence could quickly collide with an uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, helping magnify losses across markets.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 30, 2026
They collide, enfold, lose their balance, and slam against a wall, where they stay.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
A maximalist salon collides with a backstage circus dressing room in the Silver Lake apartment of stylist Wendi Weger, whose delightful fusion of art and fashion is behind the Curatorial Dept. in Atwater Village.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 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
When a large meteor collides with Earth, it produces intense heat that melts surrounding rock.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 3, 2026
Some waits were still long on Sunday as a busy spring-break season collides with TSA workers waiting for back pay from the shutdown.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
She brushes away the thought, but then the responsible-person guilt collides with the burn in her legs and the ache in her toes.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Martinez collided with Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite in the 68th minute while attempting to claim a cross from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's free-kick.
From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026
Worries about interest rates spurred by a surprisingly hot inflation reading collided with growing jitters in the technology sector on Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Scientists believe much of this transformation occurred as ancient landmasses collided during the formation of Gondwana, a vast supercontinent that eventually included parts of present-day Africa, India, Madagascar, Australia, and Antarctica.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026
The authorities said the Cirrus SR22T took off from Sion airport in the Rhône Valley and, for unknown reasons, collided with a mountain slope about 10 minutes later.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
“They’ll claim they had behavior problems or collided to make it up.”
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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
By colliding heavy ions at nearly the speed of light, researchers can briefly separate quarks and gluons and produce tiny amounts of the same kind of matter that existed during the universe's first microseconds.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
Not for the first time parading, policing and power-sharing are colliding and finding the route out of this row isn't yet obvious.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
A niche corner of the derivatives world is colliding with the universe of excahnge-traded funds.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 18, 2026
The green mist around Quinton and Maria swirls in the air before colliding into the far wall.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
