COLLISION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does collision mean? 

• COLLISION (noun)
  The noun COLLISION has 3 senses:

1. (physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together

2. an accident resulting from violent impact of a moving object

3. a conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals

  Familiarity information: COLLISION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COLLISION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(physics) a brief event in which two or more bodies come together

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

collision; hit

Context example:

the collision of the particles resulted in an exchange of energy and a change of direction

Hypernyms ("collision" is a kind of...):

contact; impinging; striking (the physical coming together of two or more things)

Domain category:

natural philosophy; physics (the science of matter and energy and their interactions)

Derivation:

collide (crash together with violent impact)

collide (cause to collide)

Sense 2

Meaning:

An accident resulting from violent impact of a moving object

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Context example:

the collision of the two ships resulted in a serious oil spill

Hypernyms ("collision" is a kind of...):

accident (an unfortunate mishap; especially one causing damage or injury)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "collision"):

fender-bender (a collision between motor vehicles that produces minor damage)

pileup (multiple collisions of vehicles)

smash; smash-up (a serious collision (especially of motor vehicles))

Derivation:

collide (crash together with violent impact)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A conflict of opposed ideas or attitudes or goals

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Context example:

a collision of interests

Hypernyms ("collision" is a kind of...):

conflict; difference; difference of opinion; dispute (a disagreement or argument about something important)

Derivation:

collide (be incompatible; be or come into conflict)

 Context examples 

Magnetospheres are the result of a collision between a planet's intrinsic magnetic field and the supersonic solar wind.

(Juno Peers Inside a Giant, NASA)

Hippocamp is likely a chipped-off piece of the larger moon that resulted from a collision with a comet billions of years ago.

(Tiny Neptune Moon Spotted by Hubble May Have Broken from Larger Moon, NASA)

Scientists show that most of the molybdenum in Earth's mantle was supplied by the protoplanet Theia, whose collision with Earth 4.4 billion years ago led to the formation of the Moon.

(Moon’s Formation Brought Water to Earth, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

Some orbit in the opposite direction their planets rotate; others swap orbits with each other as if to avoid collision.

(NASA Finds Neptune Moons Locked in 'Dance of Avoidance', NASA)

The collision boosts the light up to much higher energies.

(NASA’s Fermi Mission Links Nearby Pulsar’s Gamma-ray ‘Halo’ to Antimatter Puzzle, NASA)

These collisions typically occur as the gravity of the main cluster pulls the smaller cluster inward towards its central core.

(Scientists Surprised by Relentless Cosmic Cold Front, NASA)

This type of collision can eventually lead to the formation of planets.

(Spitzer Telescope Witnesses Asteroid Smashup, NASA)

A higher rate of galaxy collisions occurred when the universe was young, but these objects are difficult to study directly because they are located at colossal distances.

(Chandra Samples Galactic Goulash, NASA)

Device problems caused by the sudden violent blow or collision to the whole device (e.g. by dropping).

(Device Mechanical Shock Problem Evaluation Result, Food and Drug Administration)

Recently, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and Virgo gravitational wave detectors have begun to catch ripples in spacetime caused by collisions of black holes in distant galaxies.

(Unpredicted stellar black hole discovered by astronomers, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)