double cross
noun
a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
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double cross
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double-cross
double-crossverb (used with object)to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.
double cross
1 Americannoun
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a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
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an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.
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Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.
double-cross
2
American
[duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros]
/ ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /
verb (used with object)
Informal.
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double-crosses,
present (3rd person singular)
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double-crossed,
past participle, past
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double-crossing
present participle
double-cross
1
British
verb
noun
double cross
2
British
noun
double cross
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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double-crosssimple
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double-crossessimple
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have double-crossedperfect
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has double-crossedperfect
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am double-crossingprogressive
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are double-crossingprogressive
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is double-crossingprogressive
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have been double-crossingperfect progressive
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has been double-crossingperfect progressive
Past
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double-crossedsimple
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had double-crossedperfect
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was double-crossingprogressive
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were double-crossingprogressive
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had been double-crossingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of double cross1
First recorded in 1825–35
Origin of double-cross2
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Then a double cross happens, and Rachel learns what some viewers might have suspected — that one of her colleagues is in cahoots with Keya!
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2023
It’s all dangerous deals and double crosses, yet it whiffs on an opportunity for an actually interesting double cross that might have made us sit up and pay attention.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 3, 2023
But those who don’t keep up with the latest cybercrime trends may feel they have no choice but to acquiesce, and will only grasp the double cross only after the check has cleared.
From Slate ● May 18, 2022
“But he is a master of the double cross, both in his personal life and his professional life.”
From New York Times ● Jun. 25, 2011
Not since the days of George Blake's double cross had the CIA found itself in such a hall of mirrors.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
I was sure she’d win last year when the third season of “Hacks” ended with her character, Ava, pulling off a delightful double-cross.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2025
The action picks up from that double-cross, with the impossible-to-shock Deborah stunned and angry but playing along with Ava’s gambit while her overlords are watching.
From Salon ● Apr. 10, 2025
No-one knows whether they will double-cross their paymasters by secretly voting for another candidate on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2022
Ritchie piles double-cross on double-cross, clearly reveling in his plot machinations.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 23, 2020
“Don’t double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers.”
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
“Lindsey’s the guy who double-crosses everyone to save his own skin.”
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
It stalls out when it gets bogged down in backroom conversations that dwell in the details of betrayal and double-crosses.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2025
There’s also 12 years and 11 seasons of back story to keep in mind — and a ton of lore, including flash-forward child births and complex double-crosses.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
Metz may envision Steinhauer's story to be a twisty thriller with double-crosses, but the film is edited in ways that defuse the tension and possibly confuse the viewer.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2022
She figured Sciron would have no trouble believing in double-crosses, being a bandit and all.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Bonnet returned to find that Blackbeard had double-crossed him and dumped most of Bonnet's crew, stripped the Revenge of supplies and sailed off with the loot.
From Salon ● May 21, 2022
After Slone double-crossed you and left you to perish on the Mothership, the cubes that powered it are now free.
From The Verge ● Sep. 13, 2021
“I just put an awful swing on it. I double-crossed it and it was out-of-bounds by half an inch or an inch or so.”
From Washington Post ● Jul. 18, 2021
If so, it will be far from the first time that someone drawn into this case ended up believing he’d been double-crossed.
From Slate ● Sep. 11, 2020
“She was one of the agents who double-crossed you, right?”
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
She also played a double-crossing hotel detective inspector as well as a member of a wedding party singing purposefully off key lyrics, inspired by “Espresso,” to expose bad behavior at the bachelorette party.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2024
People loathed her double-crossing, despised her blind self-serving moves and they really, really hated her hair.
From Salon ● Mar. 25, 2024
Within a decade, he was double-crossing the bureau.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2023
He was the never-to-be-trusted adopted brother of the Mighty Thor, always double-crossing the God of Thunder but never losing his love.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 8, 2021
Entire plots were hatched around swiping food, complete with double-crossing, backstabbing, intrigue, outright robbery, and gobbled evidence.
From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
