intersection

[ in-ter-sek-shuhn ]
See synonyms for intersection on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a place where two or more roads meet, especially when at least one is a major highway; junction.

  2. any place of intersection or the act or fact of intersecting.

  1. Mathematics.

    • Also called meet, product . the set of elements that two or more sets have in common. Symbol: ∩

    • the greatest lower bound of two elements in a lattice.

Origin of intersection

1
First recorded in 1550–60, intersection is from the Latin word intersectiōn- (stem of intersectiō). See intersect, -ion

Other words for intersection

Other words from intersection

  • in·ter·sec·tion·al, adjective
  • non·in·ter·sec·tion·al, adjective

Words Nearby intersection

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use intersection in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for intersection

intersection

/ (ˌɪntəˈsɛkʃən, ˈɪntəˌsɛk-) /


noun
  1. a point at which things intersect, esp a road junction

  2. the act of intersecting or the state of being intersected

  1. maths

    • a point or set of points common to two or more geometric configurations

    • Also called: product the set of elements that are common to two sets

    • the operation that yields that set from a pair of given sets. Symbol: ∩, as in AB

Derived forms of intersection

  • intersectional, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for intersection

intersection

[ ĭn′tər-sĕkshən ]


  1. The point or set of points where one line, surface, or solid crosses another.

  2. The set that contains only those elements shared by two or more sets. The intersection of the sets {3,4,5,6} and {4,6,8,10} is the set {4,6}. The symbol for intersection is . Compare union.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.