TOP

Definition of incident adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

incident

adjective
 
/ˈɪnsɪdənt/
 
/ˈɪnsɪdənt/
 (physics)
jump to other results
  1. (of light, radiation, etc.) touching or hitting a surface
    • The technology relies on a beam of incident light passing through a prism.
    Topics Physics and chemistryc2
    Word Originlate Middle English: via Old French from Latin incident- ‘falling upon, happening to’, from the verb incidere, from in- ‘upon’ + cadere ‘to fall’.
See incident in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: incident

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day