junction

American  

[juhngk-shuhn] / ˈdʒʌŋk ʃən /

noun

• junctions
  plural

1. an act of joining; combining.

2. the state of being joined; union.

3. a place or point where two or more things are joined, as a seam or joint.

   Synonyms:

   welt, coupling, linkage, union

4. a place or point where two or more things meet or converge.

5. a place or station where railroad lines meet, cross, or diverge.

6. an intersection of streets, highways, or roads.

7. something that joins other things together.

   He used the device as a junction between the branch circuit and the main power lines.

   Synonyms:

   connection

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junction British  

/ ˈdʒʌŋkʃən /

noun

1. a place where several routes, lines, or roads meet, link, or cross each other

   a railway junction

2. a point on a motorway where traffic may leave or join it

3. electronics

   1. a contact between two different metals or other materials

      a thermocouple junction

   2. a transition region between regions of differing electrical properties in a semiconductor

      a p-n junction

4. a connection between two or more conductors or sections of transmission lines

5. the act of joining or the state of being joined

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Synonym Usage

Junction, juncture refer to a place, line, or point at which two or more things join. A junction is also a place where things come together: the junction of two rivers. A juncture is a line or point at which two bodies are joined, or a point of exigency or crisis in time: the juncture of the head and neck; a critical juncture in a struggle.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interjunction
  noun
• junctional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• junctions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of junction

First recorded in 1705–15; from Latin junctiōn- (stem of junctiō ), equivalent to junct(us), past participle of jungere “to join” ( jung- join + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

The noun junction refers to a meeting or a joining of some kind. If you live at the junction of Main and State streets, then your house is where those two streets meet. Junction often refers to the point where streets or railway lines come together, but it can describe other things that are joined, especially things that are in motion or transmit other things. For example, your body has nerve junctions — the places where your nerves come together. You may go swimming at the junction of two rivers. Junction can also refer to something that connects things, like a junction you use to connect electrical cords.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

junction junctions

He cannot remember the crash at a busy junction in Rhyl, Denbighshire, but knows a friend from school cycled to his parents' house to tell them.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

The crash happened between junction 3 and junction 4 of the M9 motorway, at Moone, at about 03:00 local time on Sunday.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

The fact that so many of these baryons emerge perpendicular to the beamline provides strong evidence, according to the researchers, that the baryon junction exists and plays an important role in transporting baryon number.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

Each individual gluon, including those forming the junction, therefore carries a smaller portion of the proton's total momentum.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026

“At the junction of hard luck and bad times,” I answer.

From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland

Smoke from some of the fires forced the closure of the M6 northbound between junctions five and six, causing more than two hours of delays.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

When the researchers closely examined the synapses, the tiny junctions where bipolar cells communicate, they found something unexpected.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026

But Deutsche Bahn criticised the decision, saying the move could "worsen the structural problems of rail junctions".

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

Typical rush hour congestion already creates borderline unsafe conditions for boarding and exiting popular junctions like Penn Station and Secaucus, partially because these rail lines already run over capacity.

From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2026

You could stretch the tube map into all sorts of hoops and loops and it would be the same map, as long as the junctions were the same.

From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd

Related Words

• confluence
• crossing
• intersection
• juncture
• terminal