collision course

American  

noun

1. a course or path of a vehicle, projectile, etc., that, if unchanged, will lead to a collision with another object.

2. any plan, attitude, or course of action that leads to a confrontation or conflict with another.

---

Etymology

Origin of collision course

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

And that set the biggest car market in the nation on a collision course, with Detroit, and with Washington, D.C.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Former OpenAI employees founded Anthropic in 2021 on the premise that AI development should prioritize safety -- a philosophy that now puts it on a collision course with the Pentagon and the White House.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

European and American mores on speech are on a collision course.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 21, 2026

Just as the parade reaches City Hall, another parade is on a slow-motion collision course with our own.

From Salon • Nov. 8, 2025

He was face-to-face with the enemy plane across a three-mile gap, on a collision course and closing fast.

From "Eleven" by Tom Rogers