Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

crossing

American  
[kraw-sing, kros-ing] / ˈkrɔ sɪŋ, ˈkrɒs ɪŋ /

noun

  1. the act of a person or thing that crosses. cross.

  2. a place where lines, streets, tracks, etc., cross each other.

  3. a place at which a road, railroad track, river, etc., may be crossed. crossed.

  4. hybridization; crossbreeding.

  5. the act of opposing or thwarting; frustration; contradiction.

  6. the intersection of nave and transept in a cruciform church.

  7. Railroads. a track structure composed of four connected frogs, permitting two tracks to cross each other at grade with sufficient clearance for wheel flanges.

crossing British  
/ ˈkrɒsɪŋ /

noun

  1. the place where one thing crosses another

  2. a place, often shown by markings, lights, or poles, where a street, railway, etc, may be crossed

  3. the intersection of the nave and transept in a church

  4. the act or instance of travelling across something, esp the sea

  5. the act or process of crossbreeding

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • subcrossing noun

Etymology

Origin of crossing

1375–1425; late Middle English. See cross, -ing 1

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.

"Even if the French do stop boats from crossing, the same people come back the next time there is a calm day," he added.

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026

“We are crossing all sorts of tipping points in the Middle East,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, in a Fox Business interview Friday.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026

The municipality’s main problem for the moment, Charafeddine said, was that only one crossing into Tyre survives, a narrow bridge on the old coastal road.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Two container vessels belonging to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping were turned back from crossing the roughly 20-mile chokepoint Friday, according to ship tracker MarineTraffic and Chinese crew members nearby.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

Ms. Esposito was crossing everyone’s names off her attendance list.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

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.