junction

[juhngk-shuh n] /ˈdʒʌŋk ʃən/
noun
1.
an act of joining; combining.
2.
the state of being joined; union.
3.
a place or point where two or more things are joined, as a seam or joint.
4.
a place or point where two or more things meet or converge.
5.
a place or station where railroad lines meet, cross, or diverge.
6.
an intersection of streets, highways, or roads.
7.
something that joins other things together:
He used the device as a junction between the branch circuit and the main power lines.
Origin
1705-15; < Latin junctiōn- (stem of junctiō), equivalent to junct(us), past participle of jungere to join (jung- join + -tus past participle suffix) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
junctional, adjective
interjunction, noun
Can be confused
junction, juncture (see synonym study at the current entry)
Synonyms
3. union, linkage, coupling; welt. 7. connection. Junction, juncture refer to a place, line, or point at which two or more things join. A junction is also a place where things come together: the junction of two rivers. A juncture is a line or point at which two bodies are joined, or a point of exigency or crisis in time: the juncture of the head and neck; a critical juncture in a struggle.
Examples from the web for junction
  • All cable connections should be enclosed within a metal junction box.
  • Creative research and teaching increasingly occur at the junction between traditional disciplines.
  • The junction between an axon and a dendrite is called a synapse.
  • Power from all the joints is fed down a single umbilical cable to a junction on the seabed.
  • Peel an outer leaf off from the junction where it connects to the stem.
  • When unpleasantly surprised, a well-placed swear word warns others that you've reached the crucial junction of fight and flight.
  • But applying a large enough voltage causes electrons and holes to flow into the junction from opposite sides.
  • It is the junction between the two materials which acts as the reflective surface.
  • Knowing this history gave this road junction in the desert place a sinister aura of anonymity.
  • Subjects used the arrow keys on a computer keyboard to choose to go right or left at each junction.
British Dictionary definitions for junction

junction

/ˈdʒʌŋkʃən/
noun
1.
a place where several routes, lines, or roads meet, link, or cross each other: a railway junction
2.
a point on a motorway where traffic may leave or join it
3.
(electronics)
  1. a contact between two different metals or other materials: a thermocouple junction
  2. a transition region between regions of differing electrical properties in a semiconductor: a p-n junction
4.
a connection between two or more conductors or sections of transmission lines
5.
the act of joining or the state of being joined
Derived Forms
junctional, adjective
Word Origin
C18: from Latin junctiō a joining, from junctus joined, from jungere to join
Word Origin and History for junction
n.

1711, "act of joining," from Latin iunctionem (nominative iunctio), noun of action from past participle stem of iungere "to join together" (see jugular). Meaning "place where things meet" first attested 1836, American English, originally in reference to railroad tracks.

junction in Medicine

junction junc·tion (jŭngk'shən)
n.

  1. The act or process of joining or the condition of being joined.

  2. A place where two things join or meet, especially a place where two things come together and one terminates.

  3. A transition layer or boundary between two different materials or between physically different regions in a single material.

junc'tion·al adj.