collision

English

Etymology

From Middle French collision, from Late Latin collīsiō, from Latin collīdere, past participle collīsus (“to dash together”); see collide. cf. allision.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kəˈlɪʒən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪʒən

Noun

collision (countable and uncountable, plural collisions)

1. An instance of colliding.
   • 1994, Stephen Fry, chapter 2, in The Hippopotamus:

     At the very moment he cried out, David realised that what he had run into was only the Christmas tree. Disgusted with himself at such cowardice, he spat a needle from his mouth, stepped back from the tree and listened. There were no sounds of any movement upstairs: no shouts, no sleepy grumbles, only a gentle tinkle from the decorations as the tree had recovered from the collision.

2. (physics) Any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. In a collision, physical contact of two bodies is not necessary.
3. (software compilation) Clipping of naming collision.
4. (computing, chiefly video games) Clipping of collision detection; tangibility.

Hyponyms

Coordinate terms

• allision

Derived terms

Related terms

• collide

Translations

Further reading

• “collision”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “collision”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

French

Etymology

From Latin collīsiōnem.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kɔ.li.zjɔ̃/

• audio

  (file)

Noun

collision f (plural collisions)

1. collision (an instance of colliding)

Derived terms

Further reading

• “collision”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.