intersect
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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to cross, as lines or wires.
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Geometry. to have one or more points in common.
intersecting lines.
verb
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to divide, cut, or mark off by passing through or across
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(esp of roads) to cross (each other)
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maths (often foll by with) to have one or more points in common (with another configuration)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonintersectingadjective
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self-intersectingadjective
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unintersectedadjective
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unintersectingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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intersectsimple
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intersectssimple
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have intersectedperfect
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has intersectedperfect
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am intersectingprogressive
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are intersectingprogressive
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is intersectingprogressive
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have been intersectingperfect progressive
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has been intersectingperfect progressive
Past
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intersectedsimple
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had intersectedperfect
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was intersectingprogressive
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were intersectingprogressive
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had been intersectingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of intersect
1605–15; < Latin intersectus, past participle of intersecāre “to cut through, sever”; see inter- ( def. ), -sect ( def. )
Explanation
When two things intersect, they run into each other, or lie across each other. Your street might intersect with a main avenue, and your life will hopefully intersect with the lives of other interesting people. In geometry, when a line intersects another line, they meet at exactly one point, and when a circle intersects a line, there are two points where they touch each other. When two streets intersect, you get an intersection, where you'll often find a stop sign or traffic signal. The Latin root of intersect is intersectus, "intersect or cut asunder," which combines inter-, "between," and secare, "to cut."
Vocabulary lists containing intersect
This Week in Words: April 1 - 6, 2018
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Algebra
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Geometry - Introductory
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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:
Our lives are inextricably bound up in giant networks of data that begin, end, and intersect with 6-inch screens we carry around in our pockets.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
When the Sun, Earth and Moon align near one of the points where their orbital paths intersect, eclipse seasons occur, producing both solar and lunar eclipses within a matter of weeks.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
Their measurements uncovered a dense network of magnetic nodal lines, which are special topological band crossings where two spin-polarized electronic states intersect continuously without forming an energy gap.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 5, 2026
Weese’s design virtuosity reaches its apex at the appropriately named Metro Center, where two vaults intersect.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
But the one thing that’s right is that outside of work, our worlds do not intersect.
From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy
The question becomes more prominent when it intersects with governance questions like a closely divided vote or succession concerns.
From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026
The heightened attention to the substance comes as wellness intersects more deeply with health, and as GLP-1 weight-loss medications alter the way Americans eat.
From MarketWatch ● May 10, 2026
More broadly, energy policy intersects with industrial policy in a manner that echoes his China thinking.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
Kane said the show would be a great way to celebrate, adding: "What a delightful coincidence that the age of the theatre intersects with the age of our protagonists."
From BBC ● Apr. 23, 2026
Where that orbit intersects the orbit of the Earth, there is a swarm of meteors waiting for us.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
She describes their sparkling years of early adulthood, when their lives intersected with an array of luminaries that included Bob Dylan, Andy Warhol, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
Elsbeth creator Jonathan Tolins says the script was always planned to be bold, and though real life intersected in uncanny ways, the episode wasn’t rewritten to reflect it.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2025
Sheikh Radwan includes the areas of Abu Iskandar, al-Tawam, and al-Saftawi, and is intersected by al-Jalaa Street, a vital artery linking central Gaza City with its northern districts.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2025
Cummings’ career intersected with the CIA from the start, a fact he never denied, for it added an air of mystery to his often mundane gun-selling operations.
From Slate ● May 25, 2025
The business streets intersected to form the shape of a cross.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
With 24 main characters interwoven around the town of Nashville, home of country music and intersecting political undercurrents, the film tries to make sense of the chaos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
The film’s narrative is scattered across two intersecting timelines that steadily build tension, suspicion and intrigue.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
That is similar to an August case, in which ICE agents attempted to box in a truck in San Bernardino, Calif. In that instance, the driver was able to turn right onto an intersecting street.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
This has led to growing interest in gridshells, which use intersecting curved elements of metal, glass or timber to span wide areas without interior supports.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 5, 2025
It was several days before Auri took me to Belows, a maze of intersecting tunnels.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
