Impact

How to spell impact

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce impact

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does impact mean?

1. nounA marked effect or influence that one thing has on another, or the force of one object striking another.
2. verbTo have a strong effect on something, or to press firmly into or against something.

Impact in a sentence

• noun

  The new tax had a serious impact on small businesses.

• verb

  Rising fuel prices can impact household budgets across the country.

• noun

  The crash test measured the force of the impact on the door panel.

• verb

  The new regulations will impact how landlords manage their properties.

Where does impact come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Impact comes from the Latin verb impingere, 'to drive into' or 'to strike against', which combines the prefix in- ('in' or 'into') with pangere, meaning 'to fix, fasten, or drive in'. Its past participle was impactus, literally 'driven in' or 'pressed firmly together', and that is the form English borrowed. The word arrived in the early 1600s, at first describing the physical act of one object striking forcibly against another. Over time the sense broadened from literal collisions to the figurative force one thing exerts on another, so that today we speak of the impact of a decision or a policy. The same pangere root, meaning to fasten or settle, also gave us 'pact', an agreement that is 'fixed' between parties, which neatly explains the -pact ending that learners sometimes question.

How the word is built

• im- (in, into)
• pact (from Latin pangere, pactus: to drive in, fix, fasten)