junction

[ juhngk-shuhn ]

noun

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

junction

/ 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

Derived Forms

• ˈjunctional, adjective

Other Words From

• junction·al adjective
• inter·junction noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of junction¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of junction¹

C18: from Latin junctiō a joining, from junctus joined, from jungere to join

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

Recently, a large number of intersections in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York were added to the program, bringing the total number of reporting junctions upwards of 22,000 across the US, Canada, and Europe.

From Popular-Science

They have the added benefit that they can self-assemble into complex networks—not unlike those found in the brain—with the memristive junctions acting somewhat like synapses between neurons.

From Singularity Hub 

Memristive properties are also found at the junctions where silver nanowires overlap with each other, which has made them an increasingly popular target for neuromorphic engineers.

From Singularity Hub 

As current passed through the network the memristive junctions switched on and off, altering the path the signal took.

From Singularity Hub 

That causes some synapses, the junctions between neurons, to wither.

From Popular-Science

Few people outside Georgia had even heard of the regional railroad junction town before the start of the war.

From The Daily Beast

Toledo is a tough city, a factory town, a freight train junction, a lake steamer port.

From The Daily Beast

The vehicle landed and traveled another 82 feet before striking a telephone junction box.

From The Daily Beast

Easily overlooked at a road junction is a small hand-painted sign, Aout, 1944.

From The Daily Beast

Her friend asked her to meet her at a nearby junction, but disappeared.

From The Daily Beast

It was found afterwards that the rebels meant to fight the two British forces in detail before they could effect a junction.

From Project Gutenberg

The upper block was left a little thicker, the junction or root of the neck necessitating this.

From Project Gutenberg

Parliament had sanctioned a junction, but not such a junction, the Midland said, as it was proposed to make.

From Project Gutenberg

Trieste and Grz were taken; the junction with Marmont was speedily effected, and the combined forces hurried on towards Vienna.

From Project Gutenberg

It lay three miles below town, at the junction of the north and south branches of Coldriver.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• confluence
• crossing
• intersection
• juncture
• terminal