collision

[kuh-lizh-uhn]

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

/ 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

• collisional adjective
• anticollision adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

C15: from Late Latin collīsiō from Latin collīdere to _collide

Example Sentences

Police say they are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision and have asked anyone with information or relevant footage to contact them.

Read more on BBC

The USC researchers realized that light in these nonlinear environments behaves much like a gas moving toward thermal equilibrium, where random collisions eventually create a stable distribution of energy.

Read more on Science Daily

The airport, which operates the single busiest runway in the U.S., was the site of a January midair collision between an American Airlines flight and an Army Black Hawk helicopter that killed 67 people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

This could put prediction markets and sports-betting companies on a collision course.

Read more on MarketWatch

A group of nine universities are at the center of a political collision as they prepare responses by Oct.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal