collision

[ kuh-lizh-uhn ]

noun

1. the act of colliding; a coming violently into contact; crash:

   the collision of two airplanes.

2. a clash; conflict:

   a collision of purposes.

3. Physics. the meeting of particles or of bodies in which each exerts a force upon the other, causing the exchange of energy or momentum.

collision

/ kəˈlɪʒən /

noun

1. a violent impact of moving objects; crash
2. the conflict of opposed ideas, wishes, attitudes, etc

   a collision of interests

3. physics an event in which two or more bodies or particles come together with a resulting change of direction and, normally, energy

Other Words From

• col·lision·al adjective
• anti·col·lision adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin collīsiōn- (stem of collīsiō ), equivalent to collīs ( us ) (past participle of collīdere to collide ) + -iōn- -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of collision¹

C15: from Late Latin collīsiō from Latin collīdere to collide

Example Sentences

Fire crews from Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, and Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, were called to a collision on Leverington Common near Wisbech St Mary at about 17:15 GMT on Thursday.

From BBC

I realized I’d read them in the archives of one man — a man who died less than three weeks before Crusius’ crime but who, decades before, foresaw this collision of climate change and nativist fears coming and used it to set the country on its precarious course, creating the most powerful anti-immigrant organizations in the country today.

From Salon

“What I found intriguing was you have these two characters, both of whom are meticulous and obsessive and relentless and talented and two sides of the same coin, on this one-way path to collision,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times

“Our vehicle appears to have been driving correctly in its lane when it was hit, and after the collision, our autonomous specialist manually drove the vehicle to the shoulder,” Bonelli said.

From Los Angeles Times

The M5 in Somerset is closed in both directions after a 17-year-old girl died in a collision.

From BBC