collision

American  

[kuh-lizh-uhn] / kəˈlɪʒ ən /

noun

1. the act of colliding; a coming violently into contact; crash.

   the collision of two airplanes.

2. a clash; conflict.

   a collision of purposes.

3. Physics. the meeting of particles or of bodies in which each exerts a force upon the other, causing the exchange of energy or momentum.

---

collision British  

/ kəˈlɪʒən /

noun

1. a violent impact of moving objects; crash

2. the conflict of opposed ideas, wishes, attitudes, etc

   a collision of interests

3. physics an event in which two or more bodies or particles come together with a resulting change of direction and, normally, energy

---

Other Word Forms

• anticollision adjective
• collisional adjective

Etymology

Origin of collision

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin collīsiōn- (stem of collīsiō ), equivalent to collīs ( us ) (past participle of collīdere to collide ) + -iōn- -ion

Example Sentences

CHP officers received multiple calls starting at 8:17 a.m. reporting collisions in both the north and southbound lanes of the roadway, the agency reported.

From Los Angeles Times

The rink in Milan, approved by the International Ice Hockey Federation, is shorter than the minimum requirement in the NHL, leading to suggestions there could be an increase in high-speed collisions.

From BBC

Let me clarify that this is not some “dinosaur rails against extinction-level comet collision” rant.

From Salon

It begins: “And after all the weather was ideal,” plunging the reader headfirst into the collision between preparations for a party and funeral preparations for a young man killed in an accident.

From The Wall Street Journal

To avoid collisions, each Starlink satellite must carry out an average of 41 course corrections every year.

From Science Daily