cross reference
noun
a reference from one part of a book, index, or the like, to related material, as a word or illustration, in another part.
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cross reference
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cross-reference
cross-referenceverb (used with or without object)to provide with cross references.
cross reference
1 Americannoun
cross-reference
2
American
[kraws-ref-er-uhns, -ref-ruhns, kros-]
/ ˈkrɔsˈrɛf ər əns, -ˈrɛf rəns, ˈkrɒs- /
verb (used with or without object)
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cross-references,
present (3rd person singular)
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cross-referenced,
past participle, past
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cross-referencing
present participle
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to provide with cross references.
The new encyclopedia is completely cross-referenced.
cross-reference
British
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cross-referencesimple
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cross-referencessimple
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have cross-referencedperfect
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has cross-referencedperfect
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am cross-referencingprogressive
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are cross-referencingprogressive
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is cross-referencingprogressive
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have been cross-referencingperfect progressive
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has been cross-referencingperfect progressive
Past
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cross-referencedsimple
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had cross-referencedperfect
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was cross-referencingprogressive
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were cross-referencingprogressive
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had been cross-referencingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cross reference1
First recorded in 1825–35
Origin of cross-reference2
First recorded in 1900–05
Explanation
When a book mentions something from a different part of the same book, that's a cross-reference. In a textbook, a cross-reference might look like this: "See page 123." Cross-reference, "a reference in a book to another part of it," was coined in the 19th century. It's a way to add more information without going into wordy detail, similar to using a footnote or endnote in academic writing. If you look up "Amelia Earhart" in an index at the back of a book, you might see cross-references such as "See also: Earhart, Amelia" and "See also: aviators."
Vocabulary lists containing cross-reference
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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:
Boeing 737s have historically had only two angle-of-attack sensors, so if one gets bad data the plane’s flight computers haven’t had a way to cross reference a third reading to ensure accuracy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
The Mayo Clinic provides some symptoms of BPD, which you can cross reference with your experience of your mother-in-law.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
"They are meant to cross reference to see if they are on a course, not on a course, or where they are," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
That’s an even better way to make sure companies can’t cross reference who you are.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 31, 2021
I have considered it preferable to quote as a unit all that is said on the subject by each author, giving cross reference, when necessary, in discussing particular topics under other headings.
From Prehistoric Textile Art of Eastern United States Thirteenth Annual Report of the Beaurau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution 1891-1892, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1896 pages 3-46 by William Henry Holmes
If you want to dig deeper, cross-reference location details using Google Street View.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
The cases don’t cross-reference one another, as often happens when the court decides two similar cases in the same term.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
“It is not for me to cross-reference names.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2026
Having the location of each attack, we were able to calculate the time of filming using the shadows and to cross-reference with weather records to find the most likely date.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
I read the New Testament, once quickly, then a second time more slowly, pausing to make notes, to cross-reference, and even to write short essays on doctrines like faith and sacrifice.
From "Educated" by Tara Westover
IP cross-references aside, they can stand on their own.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
The 16-year-old this year built an app that cross-references noise picked up from a microphone nearby his house against an FAA registry and the flight-tracking platform FlightRadar24.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Since then, AFP has automated area calculations of the geographic files supplied by ISW and cross-references them with the size of Ukrainian regions.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
Another observer cross-references the license plates against a running database.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2026
I checked the Talmudic cross-references for parallel texts and memorized whatever differences I found.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
For the report, the UN agency cross-referenced data showing where the roughly 2.4 billion children on the planet live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate impacts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
He cross-referenced books, a catalog from the 1920s, and photos on the British Museum’s website, and became convinced that some of the items he’d seen on eBay were part of the British Museum’s collection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
Once enough information was gathered, the team cross-referenced all of their intelligence, looking for inconsistencies and flags, and provided their findings to the Navajo County district attorney’s office, Clouse said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2025
The campaigners cross-referenced United Utilities datasets showing when an asset was spilling against how much sewage it was treating at the time.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
He got a list of every high school and university in each river town, and cross-referenced everyone who had been on a swim team for the past twenty years or had registered for a triathlon.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Health obsessives often monitor workouts, step counts, sleep metrics, heart rates and nutrition data, cross-referencing the information with their calendars, meeting transcriptions, emails and clinical records.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
I studied the pages like scripture — cross-referencing crust ratios, comparing jam methods, building a menu as though I were prepping for an exam.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
They're cross-referencing those addresses with information from the electoral roll and other agencies to find the most likely locations, for someone who may be connected with the parents.
From BBC ● May 15, 2025
These powerful applications provide a virtual fire hose of real-time information, including location and address history, cross-referencing usernames, and fingerprinting a user based on writing style.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2025
Working together, the CIA and FBI conducted a painstaking search, cross-referencing everyone who had access to the names of the agents executed by the KGB.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
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