collisioncol‧li‧sion /kəˈlɪʒən/ ●●○ noun [countable, uncountable] 
The school bus was involved in a collision with a truck. Two people were killed in a head-on collision (=between two vehicles that are moving directly towards each other) on highway 218.► see thesaurus at accident2a strong disagreement between two people or groupscollision between a collision between the two countries over fishing rights3be on a collision course a)to be likely to have serious trouble because your aims are very different from someone else’s: The two nations are on a collision course that could lead to war. b)to be moving in a direction in which you will hit something: an asteroid on a collision course with Earth
WORD ORIGINcollision
Origin:
1400-1500 Latin collisio, from collidere; ➔ COLLIDEEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- A school bus has been involved in a collision with a fuel tanker.
- News of the mid-air collision reached the papers quickly.
- The risk of a mid-air collision over central London has increased dramatically.
- These airbags are designed to protect car drivers in head-on collisions.
- Those who drive the road regularly say their biggest fear is a head-on collision.
- Whiplash, a neck injury, is a result of automobile collisions.
- About two-thirds of all collisions at state public crossings actually occur where everything is functioning properly.
- At such speeds, they need accurate sense organs if they are to avoid damaging collisions.
- But in the collision course, the church has some mighty weapons.
- In 1994, they had to withdraw after Roca broke her wrist in a fluke warmup collision.
- This placed an important limit on the amount of energy that could be emitted in the collision.
- To carry out the same thing with battleships was a very different matter and the collision the officers had foreseen duly occurred.
THESAURUS
an event in which a vehicle is damaged and often someone is hurt: · Her father died in a car accident.· Hugh had an accident on his way to work.
a serious accident in which a vehicle hits something else: · Rees-Jones was the only person to survive the crash.· a car/plane/train crash· He was killed in a plane crash.
an accident in which two or more cars, trains etc hit each other: · His car was involved in a collision with a train.a head-on collision (=between vehicles that are driving towards each other): · The actor was killed in a head-on collision while driving his new sports car.
a serious accident involving a train, plane, or boat, in which a lot of people are killed or injured: · It was Britain’s worst air disaster.
American English an accident in which a car or train is badly damaged: · Ben nearly died in a car wreck.
an accident that involves several cars or trucks: · The pileup happened in thick fog.· There was a 12-car pileup on the motorway.
American English informal British English informal a car accident in which little damage is done: · Atkinson was involved in a fender-bender in the hotel parking lot.· At 15, he borrowed his parents’ car and had a prang.
Longman Language Activatorin a car, train, plane etc · The accident happened on Interstate 84, during the evening rush hour.· Brussels airport was closed today after an accident on the runway.have an accident · Teenage boys tend to drive wildly and often have accidents.bad/nasty/serious accident · As usual, the fog and icy roads had led to several very nasty accidents.fatal accident · Men have twice as many fatal accidents as women do for every mile they drive.car/road/traffic accident · Both her parents had been killed in a car accident.auto/automobile accident American · She was in an automobile accident, but she's not seriously hurt.
an accident in which a vehicle or plane hits something violently and is damaged or destroyed: · Ira Louvin was killed in a crash in Montana that also took the lives of six other people.car/plane/train crash: · Her husband died in a plane crash in 1981.
American an accident involving cars or other vehicles: · Nobody could have survived the wreck.
a serious road accident in which many cars or other vehicles crash into each other: · The pile-up happened in thick fog and caused a seven-mile tailback on the motorway.multiple pile-up British (=a pile up involving a large number of cars): · a multiple pile-up involving a minibus and five cars
a very serious accident involving a train, plane, or ship, in which many people are killed: · The city has emergency plans for dealing with a major disaster such as a rail crash.air/rail disaster: · At least 264 people died, in one of the worst civilian air disasters of all time.the Lockerbie disaster/the Challenger disaster etc: · The Challenger disaster cost the lives of seven astronauts, and set back the nation's space program for years.
an accident in which two or more vehicles, planes, or ships hit each other: collision with: · A school bus has been involved in a collision with a fuel tanker.mid-air collision (=between two planes in the air): · The risk of a mid-air collision over central London has increased dramatically.head-on collision (=between two vehicles moving directly towards each other): · These airbags are designed to protect car drivers in head-on collisions.
when something hits someone or something the movement of hitting someone hard with your hand or with something held in your hand: · The blow proved fatal.strike (somebody) a blow: · The assailant struck several blows before he was restrained.· Officer Stacey was knocked over by a sharp blow to the head.
when one object hits another: · Just after the impact there was a flash as the rocket exploded.on impact: · Both cars burst into flames on impact.
when something, especially a vehicle, hits something else while it is moving: · Whiplash, a neck injury, is a result of automobile collisions.· News of the mid-air collision reached the papers quickly.head-on collision (=when two vehicles hit each other directly): · Those who drive the road regularly say their biggest fear is a head-on collision.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY Two people were killed in a head-on collision (=between two vehicles that are moving directly towards each other) on highway 218.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES a head-on collision a side-on collisionCOLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
Two people were killed in a head-on collision (=between two vehicles that are moving directly towards each other) on highway 218. a head-on collision a side-on collision· The ruling last week puts the courts on a collision course with Mr Mugabe and the police.· The advancing ship suddenly veered off collision course.· In addition, the Kee affair had put him on a collision course with his parents.· If executed close enough to the Moon, this maneuver can place the spacecraft on a collision course with the Moon.· However, the House of Lords could well favour a different option, setting the two on a collision course.· The Croatan was on a collision course with the twenty-foot branch and its two passengers.· Suddenly I found that he and I were on a collision course, both in Atlas aircraft.· The two are in a constant collision course.
· The simulated disaster in exercise Gryphon's Lift was a midair collision between military and civilian planes over Catterick Garrison.
VERB· The experiment is now performed and it is found that the bats avoid collisions just as efficiently as before.· Authorities said the commercial flight maneuvered to avoid a collision and landed as scheduled.· At such speeds, they need accurate sense organs if they are to avoid damaging collisions.· To avoid clustering of collisions, chaining was chosen as a collision resolution technique.· He saw no prospect of avoiding for long a head-on collision.· Two of the riders left the road to avoid a head on collision.· The huge lorry is forced to mount the kerb to avoid a collision with the oncoming car.· Sooner or later students will need to swing, or stop a swing, to avoid a collision on the ground.
· It does not therefore describe the collision of genuinely non-aligned gravitational waves.· This describes the collision of plane gravitational waves with step wavefronts.
· The Bell-Szekeres solution Bell and Szekeres have considered a very simple situation involving a collision of two step electromagnetic waves.· At least two coaches seem to have been involved in a collision in the Leopoldstadt, near the canal.· His car was involved in in collision with an articulated lorry.
· In August 1995 some 300 were killed in a rear-end collision at Firozabad near Agra.· In a year or so three of these young men will be killed in collisions.
· A spokesman said the freight train driver spotted the danger but could not prevent the collision.· Make sure that you set tab stops far enough apart to prevent collisions of this type.· They included provisions designed to prevent head-on collisions, like those at Bellgrove and later at Newton.· The pilot released the cable but could not keep the glider straight, or stop in time to prevent the collision.· That meant that a proposal, which would have prevented the collision, for four new platforms at Newton had been scrapped.· The rules of the road, for example, have a purpose since they are designed to prevent collisions.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
1an accident in which two or more people or vehicles hit each other while moving in different directionscollision with- Newspaper reports say that the two nations are on a collision course that could lead to war.
- It needed no great powers of prophecy to realize that Nigel and I were on a collision course.
- Nurses lodge 10 Nurses are on a collision course with the Government after lodging a claim for a ten percent pay rise.
- Suddenly I found that he and I were on a collision course, both in Atlas aircraft.
- The Croatan was on a collision course with the twenty-foot branch and its two passengers.
- Union leaders representing more than 8,000 white-collar staff gave warning of more stoppages and said the company was on a collision course.
The school bus was involved in a collision with a truck. Two people were killed in a head-on collision (=between two vehicles that are moving directly towards each other) on highway 218.► see thesaurus at accident2a strong disagreement between two people or groupscollision between a collision between the two countries over fishing rights3be on a collision course a)to be likely to have serious trouble because your aims are very different from someone else’s: The two nations are on a collision course that could lead to war. b)to be moving in a direction in which you will hit something: an asteroid on a collision course with Earth