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• double cross
  double cross

  noun

  a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
• double-cross
  double-cross

  verb (used with object)

  to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

double cross

¹ American  

noun

1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.

2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.

3. Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.

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double-cross ² American  

[duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros] / ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /

verb (used with object)

Informal.

1. to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

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double-cross ¹ British  

verb

1. (tr) to cheat or betray

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noun

1. the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

double cross ² British  

noun

1. a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines

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double cross Idioms  

1. A deliberate betrayal; violation of a promise or obligation, as in They had planned a double cross, intending to keep all of the money for themselves. This usage broadens the term's earlier sense in sports gambling, where it alluded to the duplicity of a contestant who breaks his word after illicitly promising to lose. Both usages gave rise to the verb double-cross. [Late 1800s]

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Other Word Forms

• double-crosser
  noun

Etymology

Origin of double cross¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of double-cross²

First recorded in 1900–05