Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Dealings or communications between persons or groups.
- n. Sexual intercourse.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Communication between persons or places; frequent or habitual meeting or contact of one person with another, or of a number of persons with others, in conversation, trade, travel, etc.; physical interchange; reciprocal dealing: as, the intercourse between town and country.
- n. Mental or spiritual interchange; reciprocal exchange of ideas or feelings; intercommunion.
Wiktionary
- n. Communication, conversation.
- n. Dealings between countries.
- n. Dealings with people, including commerce and trade.
- n. sexual intercourse.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A commingling; intimate connection or dealings between persons or nations, as in common affairs and civilities, in correspondence or trade; communication; commerce; especially, interchange of thought and feeling; association; communion.
- n. Same as sexual intercourse.
WordNet 3.0
- n. communication between individuals
- n. the act of sexual procreation between a man and a woman; the man's penis is inserted into the woman's vagina and excited until orgasm and ejaculation occur
Etymologies
- Middle English entercours, commercial dealings, from Old French entrecours, from Latin intercursus, a running between, interposition, from past participle of intercurrere, to mingle with : inter-, inter- + currere, to run; see kers- in Indo-European roots.
Examples
“I was staring, by now, with my mouth hanging open like an inbred, corn-fed white woman at a Sarah Palin rally demanding that the word intercourse be taken out of the dictionary, and taxes lowered, while escalating the war in some far-off country that doesn’t have the sense to be Christian.”
“Men are more likely to experience orgasm when vaginal intercourse is involved, while women are more likely to reach orgasm when they engage in variety of acts, including oral sex, said researcher Debra Herbenick, lead author of the section about women's sex lives.”
“Men are more likely to orgasm when sex includes vaginal intercourse; women are more likely to orgasm when they engage in a variety of sex acts and when oral sex or vaginal intercourse is included.”
The Washington Post: Study reveals Americans' sexual activity, condom use
“Malaita, the profit and loss account of social intercourse is calculated in homicides.”
“The right of people in this country to decide by mutual agreement whether and under what conditions they consent to sexual intercourse is fundamental.”
Petition to defer any bill on prostitution until after the next general election
“His ire and condemnation extends to heterosexuals, unless the goal of their sexual intercourse is reproduction.”
“I find the idea that intercourse is the most important/special thing I can offer insulting and demeaning!”
Adventures in conservative media (Laura Ingraham edition) - Feministing
“Translated it means, sexual intercourse is only performed for reproduction of the species.”
Think Progress » CPAC Conference Dissolves Into Right-Wing Civil War Over Gay Rights
“Would you allow lesbians to marry, since anal intercourse is probably pretty rare among lesbians?”
“I think the Church condemns surrogacy for one reason because it separates the act of intercourse from the pregnancy and birth.”
brtom I must inform you that love has no share whatever in the intercourse between Mr. Surface and me.
Sheridan, School for Scandal Jan 5, 2008