collision
/kəˈlɪʒn̩/noun
collision is spelled C-O-L-L-I-S-I-O-N: 9 letters and 3 syllables. It appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, collision means “An instance of colliding” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of collision is collisions.
How many letters and syllables are in collision?
| Letters | 9: C-O-L-L-I-S-I-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 8.9 times per million words; the 7,672nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is collision?
Collision appears 8.9 times per million words in written English, the 7,672nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce collision?
- /kəˈlɪʒn̩/
Collision has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-collision.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of collision
- collisions plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does collision mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
An instance of colliding.
He has retired due to the collision.
- 2
Any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. In a collision, physical contact of two bodies is not necessary.
- 3
Clipping of naming collision.
- 4
Clipping of collision detection; tangibility.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Collision in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense instance of colliding:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | collision |
| German | Zusammenstoß, Kollision |
| Portuguese | colisão |
| Spanish | colisión |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does collision come from?
From Middle French collision, from Latin collīsiō (“clash, concussion, collision”) (whence -ion (noun suffix denoting action, result, process, state, condition)), from collīsus (“clashed together, conflicted, contended”), past participle of collīdō (“to clash, strike, dash, beat, or press together”) (whence collide), from con- (“together”) + laedō (“to strike, collide, hurt”) (whence col- (assimilated form of com-)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).