cut across

British  

verb

1. (intr) to be contrary to ordinary procedure or limitations

   opinion on European integration still cuts clean across party lines

2. to cross or traverse, making a shorter route

   she cut across the field quickly

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cut across Idioms  

1. Go beyond, transcend, as in The new regulations cut across class lines. This figurative use of cut across, which literally means “run through” or “intersect,” dates from the 1920s.

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Example Sentences

“I don’t think about it in raw numbers. I think about it in the wealth of expertise and knowledge that has been cut across all levels,” a former senior Justice Department official said.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

The Walt Disney Co. has begun a broad round of layoffs, which will result in 1,000 jobs being cut across multiple divisions within the Burbank entertainment giant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

The study also supports a broader shift in psychiatry toward dimensional and data-driven frameworks that cut across traditional diagnoses.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

"What it tells us is we actually need to just do more than ban phones. We need to be thinking about how phone policies cut across in school and outside the school context."

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Mami insisted that I take the long way to school and not cut across the projects, but I did it once, because I wanted to find the spot where the little girl had fallen.

From "When I Was Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago

Related Words

• cruise
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse