bisect

[ verb bahy-sekt, bahy-sekt; noun bahy-sekt ]
See synonyms for: bisectbisectedbisection on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. to cut or divide into two equal or nearly equal parts.

  2. Geometry. to cut or divide into two equal parts: to bisect an angle.

  1. to intersect or cross: the spot where the railroad tracks bisect the highway.

verb (used without object)
  1. to split into two, as a road; fork: There's a charming old inn just before the road bisects.

noun
  1. Also called split. Philately. a portion of a stamp, usually half, used for payment of a proportionate amount of the face value of the whole stamp.

Origin of bisect

1
1640–50; bi-1 + -sect<Latin sectus, past participle of secāre to cut, sever; see section

Other words from bisect

  • bi·sec·tion, noun
  • bi·sec·tion·al, adjective
  • bi·sec·tion·al·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with bisect

Words Nearby bisect

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bisect in a sentence

  • South Creek did not bisect Superior, as Don thought it might, but flowed in an arc through a southern segment of it.

British Dictionary definitions for bisect

bisect

/ (baɪˈsɛkt) /


verb
  1. (tr) maths to divide into two equal parts

  2. to cut or split into two

Origin of bisect

1
C17: bi- 1 + -sect from Latin secāre to cut

Derived forms of bisect

  • bisection (baɪˈsɛkʃən), noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for bisect

bisect

[ sĕkt′, bī-sĕkt ]


  1. To cut or divide into two parts, especially two equal parts.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.