intersect

[in-ter-sekt]

verb (used with object)

1. to cut or divide by passing through or across.

   The highway intersects the town.

verb (used without object)

1. to cross, as lines or wires.

2. Geometry.,  to have one or more points in common.

   intersecting lines.

intersect

/ ˌɪntəˈsɛkt /

verb

1. to divide, cut, or mark off by passing through or across

2. (esp of roads) to cross (each other)

3. maths (often foll by with) to have one or more points in common (with another configuration)

Other Word Forms

• nonintersecting adjective
• self-intersecting adjective
• unintersected adjective
• unintersecting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of intersect¹

1605–15; < Latin intersectus, past participle of intersecāre “to cut through, sever”; inter- ( def. ), -sect ( def. )

Word History and Origins

Origin of intersect¹

C17: from Latin intersecāre to divide, from _inter- + secāre to cut

Example Sentences

Our soundtrack aptly intersected folk and country, and while we listened to anything anyone recommended, Cash was our mainstay.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Simple guidance on acetaminophen use during pregnancy has intersected with social media performance, partisan narratives, and debates over “trusting science,” highlighting the challenges of communicating public health in a polarized media landscape.

Read more on Salon

Hunger intersects with nearly every facet of life: wages, geography, transportation, the trade-offs between buying groceries and paying for health care.

Read more on Salon

Two bedrooms and two bathrooms, each with more built-in storage than they can use, sit off an intersecting hallway.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They’ve been around; they have worn edges, and when they intersect, it generates something authentically sweet, as real as the rest of the series is improbable.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• converge 
• cross