impact

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Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

From Latin impingere (to dash against, impinge)

[edit] Pronunciation

[edit] Noun

Singular
impact

Plural
impacts

impact (plural impacts)

  1. The force or energy of a collision of two objects.
    The hatchet cut the wood on impact.
  2. (chiefly medicine) A forced impinging.
    His spine had an impingement; L4 and L5 made impact, which caused numbness in his leg.
  3. A significant or strong influence; an effect.
    His friend's opinion had an impact on his decision.
    Our choice of concrete will have a tremendous impact on the building's mechanical performance.

[edit] Derived terms

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Translations

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[edit] Verb

Infinitive
to impact

Third person singular
impacts

Simple past
impacted

Past participle
impacted

Present participle
impacting

to impact (third-person singular simple present impacts, present participle impacting, simple past and past participle impacted)

  1. (transitive) To compress; to compact; to press or pack together.
    If fecal incontinence is caused by impacted stool in the rectum, the impaction must be removed.
  2. (transitive, proscribed) To influence; to affect; to have an impact on.
    I can make the changes, but it will impact the schedule.
  3. (transitive) To collide or strike.
    When the hammer impacts the nail, it bends.

[edit] Usage notes

Some authorities object to the use of impact to mean "to influence; to affect; to have an impact on" or to mean "to collide or strike". Such usage seems to be an adaptation of the colloquial noun form of impact to use as a verb.

[edit] Translations


[edit] French

[edit] Noun

impact

  1. impact