Intersection

How to spell intersection

12 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce intersection

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does intersection mean?

1. nounA point where two or more roads cross one another.
2. nounThe point or set where two things cross, meet, or share common ground.

Intersection in a sentence

• The accident happened at the busy intersection near the station.

• The intersection of the two circles in the diagram is shaded grey.

• Traffic lights were installed at the intersection to reduce collisions.

• Her research sits at the intersection of biology and economics.

Where does intersection come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built from Latin roots: the prefix inter- meaning 'between' and the verb secare meaning 'to cut'. Joined, the Latin intersecare meant literally 'to cut between' or 'to cut through one another', and its past participle gave intersectus. English took the verb 'intersect' in the early 1600s, and the noun 'intersection' followed for the place or act where two lines or paths cut across each other. The same secare root quietly cuts through a family of everyday words, including 'section', 'dissect', 'bisect', and even 'insect' (an animal that looks notched, or cut into segments). Remembering that hidden 'sect' (a clean cut) helps fix the spelling, since the tricky part is keeping inter-, sect, and -ion in order rather than slipping toward a softer 'shun' ending.

How the word is built

• inter- (between, among)
• sect (cut, from Latin secare)
• -ion (noun-forming suffix)