bisect

American  

[bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt] / baɪˈsɛkt, ˈbaɪ sɛkt, ˈbaɪ sɛkt /

verb (used with object)

• bisects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bisected,
  past participle,  past
• bisecting
  present participle

1. to cut or divide into two equal or nearly equal parts.

2. Geometry. to cut or divide into two equal parts.

   to bisect an angle.

3. to intersect or cross.

   the spot where the railroad tracks bisect the highway.

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verb (used without object)

• bisects,
  present (3rd person singular)
• bisected,
  past participle,  past
• bisecting
  present participle

1. to split into two, as a road; fork.

   There's a charming old inn just before the road bisects.

noun

1. Also called split.  Philately. a portion of a stamp, usually half, used for payment of a proportionate amount of the face value of the whole stamp.

bisect British  

/ baɪˈsɛkt, baɪˈsɛkʃən /

verb

1. (tr) maths to divide into two equal parts

2. to cut or split into two

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bisect Scientific  

/ bī′sĕkt′,bī-sĕkt′ /

1. To cut or divide into two parts, especially two equal parts.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bisection
  noun
• bisectional
  adjective
• bisectionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• bisecting
  present
• bisected
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bisect
  simple
• bisects
  simple
• have bisected
  perfect
• has bisected
  perfect
• am bisecting
  progressive
• are bisecting
  progressive
• is bisecting
  progressive
• have been bisecting
  perfect progressive
• has been bisecting
  perfect progressive

Past

• bisected
  simple
• had bisected
  perfect
• was bisecting
  progressive
• were bisecting
  progressive
• had been bisecting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bisect
  simple
• will have bisected
  perfect
• will be bisecting
  progressive
• will have been bisecting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bisect

1640–50; bi- ¹ + -sect < Latin sectus, past participle of secāre to cut, sever; see section

Explanation

When you cut something in half or in two pieces, you bisect it. You can bisect a cupcake so that you and a friend get equal pieces. In Latin, bi means "two" and secare means "to cut." That's why the verb bisect means "divide into two equal pieces." You might bisect your garden, planting half with vegetables and half with flowers, or tape a line on your bedroom floor to bisect the space into two sides — yours and your horrible sister's. In geometry, the word bisect means the same thing, to split something into equal halves.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bisect bisects bisected bisecting

The loss of New York and advance of British troops from Canada threatened to bisect the colonies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

When these acoels reproduce asexually, they first bisect themselves.

From Science Daily ● May 15, 2024

"For your safety, take this next opportunity to move south beyond Wadi Gaza," the military announced, referring to the wetlands that bisect the narrow, coastal territory.

From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2023

He was believed to have been born roughly 12 years ago in the Santa Monica Mountains that bisect Los Angeles.

From New York Times ● May 4, 2023

According to the map this canal should bisect the Wellteco Canal, which will turn south and flow all the way to the ocean.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer

Mr. Robb’s excellent maps expose their geological foundation: the limestone belt that bisects England from the upper right to the lower left.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

Soldiers also entered the Netzarim Corridor, which runs roughly four miles and bisects the enclave just south of Gaza City.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025

H. dorsalis hails from the mountains of Northern Borneo and features a conspicuous dark stripe that begins atop its head and bisects its back before fading around mid-body.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2023

He admitted it was a "very lucky" finish to his round after his drive bounced out of the creek that bisects the 18th fairway.

From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2023

A bright blue cloth is crumpled on the floor, and a length of string bisects the room.

From "The Sun Is Also a Star" by Nicola Yoon

“It’s right here,” glaciologist Alison Criscitiello says, pointing to a nearly invisible gray smudge behind the glass, on a 5-foot-long, 1,550-year-old bisected cylinder of ice.

From Slate ● May 8, 2026

An Instagram account with millions of views shows a woman in swimsuits and gymwear whose body is bisected by vitiligo so she is exactly half white and half brown.

From Barron's ● Mar. 27, 2026

It’s bisected by La Cienega Boulevard, a thoroughfare that carries six lanes of high-speed traffic through the gritty landscape of the oil field, which feels like a relic of old L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 9, 2025

For example, “Pinky could conclude only that the strength of the floor diaphragm where the trench headers bisected the slab was inadequate.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025

She went about picking tools off the shelf, holding them in the air so the sunlight bisected them.

From "Tradition" by Brendan Kiely

Humanitarian workers have to carry out special co-ordination to cross the Israeli military zone bisecting the territory.

From BBC ● Jan. 1, 2025

Which is paradoxical, of course, because the construction of freeways has always also meant the bisecting of neighborhoods they displace.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 19, 2023

Close inspection also shows a faint horizontal line bisecting each Milky Way star, which is caused by light bending around a support strut of the telescope’s secondary mirror.

From Scientific American ● Nov. 3, 2023

People cheered the trucks full of soldiers speeding through the road bisecting the town, as women and children sat under tents eating bread, cheese and vegetable stew.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2023

Her face was smooth and bronze, with a high-bridged, regal nose and a scar bisecting her right eyebrow.

From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor

Related Words

• cut across