across
Americanpreposition
-
from one side to the other of.
a bridge across a river.
-
on or to the other side of; beyond.
across the sea.
-
into contact with; into the presence of, usually by accident.
to come across an old friend; to run across a first edition of Byron.
-
crosswise of or transversely to the length of something; athwart.
coats across the bed; straddled across the boundary line.
adverb
-
from one side to another.
-
on the other side.
We'll soon be across.
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crosswise; transversely.
with arms across.
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so as to be understood or learned.
He couldn't get the idea across to the class.
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into a desired or successful state.
to put a business deal across.
adjective
preposition
-
from one side to the other side of
-
on or at the other side of
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so as to transcend boundaries or barriers
people united across borders by religion and history
the study of linguistics across cultures
-
fully informed about; dealing with
we are across this problem
adverb
-
from one side to the other
-
on or to the other side
Etymology
Origin of across
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.
“Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages” explores how the biblical concept of Genesis has been interpreted and visualized across time, starting with artists making work during the Middle Ages.
From Los Angeles Times
From the restaurant terrace, they watched fires pop up across the city.
From Los Angeles Times
The Alliance of Health Care Unions counts some 62,000 Kaiser workers across 23 local unions among its members.
From Los Angeles Times
After a week of stormy weather across California, a break in the clouds provided a glimpse of a mountainous landscape transformed by snow.
From Los Angeles Times
It's also spurred several spaceport projects across Europe - from the Azores in Portugal, to Norway's far north.
From BBC
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.