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Definition of collide verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

     

    collide

     verb
    verb
    NAmE//kəˈlaɪd//
     
    Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they collide
     
    he / she / it collides
     
    past simple collided
     
    -ing form colliding
     
     
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  1. 1[intransitive] if two people, vehicles, etc. collide, they crash into each other; if a person, vehicle, etc. collides with another, or with something that is not moving, they crash into it The car and the van collided head-on in thick fog. collide with something/somebody The car collided head-on with the van. As he fell, his head collided with the table. Thesauruscrash
    • slam
    • collide
    • smash
    • wreck
    These are all words that can be used when something, especially a vehicle, hits something else very hard and is damaged or destroyed.
    • crash (somewhat informal) to hit an object or another vehicle, causing damage; to make a vehicle do this:I was terrified that the plane would crash.
    • slam (something) into/against somebody/something to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this:The car skidded and slammed into a tree.
    • collide (somewhat formal) (of two vehicles or people) to crash into each other; (of a vehicle or person) to crash into someone or something else:The car and the van collided head-on in thick fog.
    • smash (somewhat informal) to crash into something with a lot of force; to make something do this; to crash a car:The thieves smashed a stolen car through the store's display.
    crash, slam, or smash?
    • Crash is used especially to talk about vehicles and can be used without a preposition:We're going to crash, aren't we?In this meaning slam and smash always take a preposition:We're going to slam/smash, aren't we?They are used for a much wider range of things than just vehicles. Crash can also be used for other things, if used with a preposition:She turned the corner in the hallway and crashed into the soda machine.
    • wreck to crash a vehicle and damage it very badly
    Patterns
    • two vehicles crash/collide
    • two vehicles/people/things crash/slam/smash >into each other>
    • to crash/smash/wreck a car
  2. 2[intransitive] collide (with somebody) (over something) (formal) (of people, their opinions, etc.) to disagree strongly They regularly collide over policy decisions. see collision
See collide in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: collide

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