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• cross
  cross

  noun

  a structure consisting essentially of an upright and a transverse piece, used to execute persons in ancient times.
• Cross
  Cross

  noun

  Wilbur Lucius, 1862–1948, U.S. educator: governor of Connecticut 1931–39.
• cross-
  cross-

  a combining form of cross, used to indicate an interaction or exchange of two or more things (cross-addicted, cross-cultural, cross-pollination ), the extension across a space or the covering of a distance (cross-border, crosscountry ), or the passing across or perpendicular intersection with something (crossbar, crosscurrent ).

cross

¹ American  

[kraws, kros] / krɔs, krɒs /

noun

• crosses
  plural

1. a structure consisting essentially of an upright and a transverse piece, used to execute persons in ancient times.

2. any object, figure, or mark resembling a cross, as two intersecting lines.

3. a mark resembling a cross, usually an X, made instead of a signature by a person unable to write.

4. the Cross, the cross upon which Jesus died.

5. a figure of the Cross as a Christian emblem, badge, etc.

6. the Cross as the symbol of Christianity.

7. a small cross with a human figure attached to it, as a representation of Jesus crucified; crucifix.

8. a sign made with the right hand by tracing the figure of a cross in the air or by touching the foreheard, chest, and shoulders, as an act of devotion.

9. a structure or monument in the form of a cross, set up for prayer, as a memorial, etc.

10. any of various conventional representations or modifications of the Christian emblem used symbolically or for ornament, as in heraldry or art.

    a Latin cross;

    a Maltese cross.

11. the crucifixion of Jesus as the culmination of His redemptive mission.

12. any suffering endured for Jesus' sake.

13. the teaching of redemption gained by Jesus' death.

14. the Christian religion, or those who accept it; Christianity; Christendom.

15. an opposition; thwarting; frustration.

16. any misfortune; trouble.

17. a crossing of animals or plants; a mixing of breeds.

18. an animal, plant, breed, etc., produced by crossing; crossbreed.

19. a person or thing that is intermediate in character between two others.

20. Boxing. a punch thrown across and over the lead of an opponent.

    a left jab, followed by a right cross.

21. Older Slang. a contest the result of which is dishonestly arranged beforehand.

    Many of the onlookers, especially some who had bet heavily on Taylor, complained loudly that the fight was a “damnable cross.”

22. a crossing.

23. a place of crossing.

24. Plumbing. a four-way joint or connection.

25. Theater. an actor's movement from one area of a stage to another.

26. Also called cross-trade.  Stock Exchange. an arrangement for the simultaneous sale and purchase of a block of stock handled by a single broker.

27. Machinery. spider.

28. (initial capital letter) Southern Cross.

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verb (used with object)

• crosses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crossed,
  past participle,  past
• crossing
  present participle

1. to move, pass, or extend from one side to the other side of (a street, river, etc.).

   Synonyms:

   bridge, span, traverse

2. to put or draw (a line, lines, etc.) across.

3. to cancel by marking with a cross or with a line or lines (often followed by off orout ).

4. to mark with a cross.

5. to lie or pass across; intersect.

6. to meet and pass.

7. to transport across something.

8. to assist or guide (a person) across a street or intersection.

   The guard crossed the child at the traffic light.

9. to place in the form of a cross or crosswise.

10. Biology. to cause (members of different genera, species, breeds, varieties, or the like) to interbreed.

11. to oppose openly; thwart; frustrate.

    Synonyms:

    contradict, foil, baffle

    Antonyms:

    help, assist, aid

12. Slang. to betray; double-cross.

13. to make the sign of a cross upon or over, as in devotion.

    to cross oneself.

14. Nautical. to set (a yard) in proper position on a mast.

15. Obsolete. to confront in a hostile manner.

verb (used without object)

• crosses,
  present (3rd person singular)
• crossed,
  past participle,  past
• crossing
  present participle

1. to lie or be athwart; intersect.

2. to move, pass, or extend from one side or place to another.

   Cross at the intersection.

3. to meet and pass.

4. to interbreed.

5. Theater. to move from one side of the stage to the other, especially by passing downstage of another actor.

adjective

• crosser,
  comparative
• crossest
  superlative

1. angry and annoyed; ill-humored; snappish.

   Don't be cross with me.

   Synonyms:

   testy, touchy, fretful, irritable, impatient, ill-tempered, cranky, cantankerous, sulky, churlish, crabbed, waspish, irascible, fractious, petulant

   Antonyms:

   agreeable, good-humored, good-natured

2. lying or passing crosswise or across each other; athwart; transverse.

   cross timbers.

3. involving a reciprocal action, interchange, or the like.

   a cross-endorsement of political candidates;

   cross-marketing of related services.

4. contrary; opposite.

   They were at cross purposes with each other.

5. adverse; unfavorable.

6. crossbred; hybrid.

verb phrase

1. cross over Also cross over to the other side

   1. Biology. (of a chromosome segment) to undergo crossing over.

   2. to switch allegiance, as from one political party to another.

   3. to change successfully from one field of endeavor, genre, etc., to another.

      to cross over from jazz to rock.

   4. to die; pass away.

2. cross up

   1. to change arrangements made with; deceive.

      He crossed me up after we had agreed to tell the police the same story.

   2. to confuse.

      I was supposed to meet him at the station, but got crossed up.

idioms

1. on the cross, in a dishonest manner; illegally.

   Her elegant clothes and those two splendid rings had been acquired on the cross.

2. take the cross, to make the vows of a crusader.

3. bear one's cross, to accept trials or troubles patiently.

4. cross one's mind. mind.

5. cross one's heart. heart.

6. cross one's path. path.

7. cross the line, line.

8. cross someone's palm (with silver), to give money to, especially in payment for a service.

   I shall tell your fortune, but you must first cross my palm with silver.

Cross ² American  

[kraws, kros] / krɔs, krɒs /

noun

1. Wilbur Lucius, 1862–1948, U.S. educator: governor of Connecticut 1931–39.

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cross- ³ American  

1. a combining form of cross, used to indicate an interaction or exchange of two or more things (cross-addicted, cross-cultural, cross-pollination ), the extension across a space or the covering of a distance (cross-border, crosscountry ), or the passing across or perpendicular intersection with something (crossbar, crosscurrent ).

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Cross ¹ British  

/ krɒs /

noun

1. the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified

2. the Crucifixion of Jesus

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cross ² British  

/ krɒs /

noun

1. a structure or symbol consisting essentially of two intersecting lines or pieces at right angles to one another

2. a wooden structure used as a means of execution, consisting of an upright post with a transverse piece to which people were nailed or tied

3. a representation of the Cross used as an emblem of Christianity or as a reminder of Christ's death

4. any mark or shape consisting of two intersecting lines, esp such a symbol ( × ) used as a signature, point of intersection, error mark, etc

5. a sign representing the Cross made either by tracing a figure in the air or by touching the forehead, breast, and either shoulder in turn

6. any conventional variation of the Christian symbol, used emblematically, decoratively, or heraldically, such as a Maltese, tau, or Greek cross

7. heraldry any of several charges in which one line crosses or joins another at right angles

8. a cruciform emblem awarded to indicate membership of an order or as a decoration for distinguished service

9. (sometimes capital) Christianity or Christendom, esp as contrasted with non-Christian religions

   Cross and Crescent

10. the place in a town or village where a cross has been set up

11. a pipe fitting, in the form of a cross, for connecting four pipes

12. biology

    1. the process of crossing; hybridization

    2. an individual produced as a result of this process

13. a mixture of two qualities or types

    he's a cross between a dictator and a saint

14. an opposition, hindrance, or misfortune; affliction (esp in the phrase bear one's cross )

15. slang a match or game in which the outcome has been rigged

16. slang a fraud or swindle

17. boxing a straight punch delivered from the side, esp with the right hand

18. football the act or an instance of kicking or passing the ball from a wing to the middle of the field

19. 1. diagonally

    2. slang dishonestly

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verb

1. (sometimes foll by over) to move or go across (something); traverse or intersect

   we crossed the road

2. 1. to meet and pass

      the two trains crossed

   2. (of each of two letters in the post) to be dispatched before receipt of the other

3. (tr; usually foll by out, off, or through) to cancel with a cross or with lines; delete

4. (tr) to place or put in a form resembling a cross

   to cross one's legs

5. (tr) to mark with a cross or crosses

6. (tr) to draw two parallel lines across the face of (a cheque) and so make it payable only into a bank account

7. (tr)

   1. to trace the form of the Cross, usually with the thumb or index finger upon (someone or something) in token of blessing

   2. to make the sign of the Cross upon (oneself)

8. (intr) (of telephone lines) to interfere with each other so that three or perhaps four callers are connected together at one time

9. to cause fertilization between (plants or animals of different breeds, races, varieties, etc)

10. (tr) to oppose the wishes or plans of; thwart

    his opponent crosses him at every turn

11. football to kick or pass (the ball) from a wing to the middle of the field

12. (tr) nautical to set (the yard of a square sail) athwartships

13. to deal with matters, problems, etc, as they arise; not to anticipate difficulties

14. to fold one finger across another in the hope of bringing good luck

    keep your fingers crossed

15. to promise or pledge, esp by making the sign of a cross over one's heart

16. to occur to one briefly or suddenly

17. to give someone money

18. to meet or thwart someone

19. to argue or fight

adjective

1. angry; ill-humoured; vexed

2. lying or placed across; transverse

   a cross timber

3. involving interchange; reciprocal

4. contrary or unfavourable

5. another word for crossbred

6. a Brit slang word for dishonest

cross- ³ British  

combining form

1. indicating action from one individual, group, etc, to another

   cross-cultural

   cross-fertilize

   cross-refer

2. indicating movement, position, etc, across something (sometimes implying interference, opposition, or contrary action)

   crosscurrent

   crosstalk

3. indicating a crosslike figure or intersection

   crossbones

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Cross ⁴ British  

/ krɒs /

noun

1. Richard Assheton , 1st Viscount. 1823–1914, British Conservative statesman, home secretary (1874–80); noted for reforms affecting housing, public health, and the employment of women and children in factories

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cross Scientific  

/ krôs /

1. A plant or animal produced by crossbreeding; a hybrid.

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1. To crossbreed or cross-fertilize plants or animals.

cross More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cross

• at cross purposes
• at the crossroads
• caught in the middle (cross-fire)
• dot one's i's and cross one's t's
• double cross
• get one's wires crossed

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Usage

What is a basic definition of cross? Cross as a verb means to begin at one side of something and finish at the opposite side. As an adjective, cross means angry and irritated. As a noun, cross refers to a structure that resembles a lowercase t or any object that has this shape. Cross has a huge number of other senses as a noun, verb, and adjective. When an object or living thing crosses something else, it physically moves from one side to the other, passes from one side to the other, or extends from one side to the other.

• Real-life examples: A chicken crosses (walks across) a road. An airplane crosses (passes over) the Atlantic Ocean. A bridge crosses (extends over) a raging river.
• Used in a sentence: She slowly crossed the rickety bridge. 

As an adjective, cross is used to describe a person who is angry, annoyed, or generally in a bad mood. This sense is often written as “be cross with.”

• Real-life examples: Teachers get cross when students don’t do their homework. A person waiting in line for hours will most likely become cross. Service people are told not to be cross with rude customers and maintain a sense of calm.
• Used in a sentence: She was very cross with her brother after he forgot her birthday. 

The noun sense of cross refers to an object made from a horizontal piece and a vertical piece to form a structure that resembles a lowercase t. This object has a huge historical and religious significance, especially among Christians. A wooden cross was used by the ancient Romans in order to perform a crucifixion, a horrible execution method in which a person was bound or nailed to a cross until they died. Jesus Christ, an extremely important person in Christianity, was famously executed by the Romans by being nailed to a cross. The cross or “the Cross” (meaning the specific one Jesus died on) is a holy symbol to Christians and a cross shape is often used as the symbol of Christianity. Many Christians have crosses in their homes or on their vehicles or wear one on a necklace.

• Real-life examples: Most Christian bibles have a cross on the cover. Most Christian churches have a cross (or many crosses) on or inside the building. Many Christian works of art depict crosses or the crucifixion of Jesus on the Cross.
• Used in a sentence: The priest’s cane had a cross painted on it.

What does cross- mean? Cross- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning variously “transverse; going across something" or "cross," as in a figure or object resembling a cross, a structure or mark comprising two intersecting lines. It is often used in a variety of everyday and technical terms. Cross- ultimately comes from Latin crux, meaning “cross,” which is also the source of words such as crucial and cruciform. Learn more about this word at our entry for crux.

Synonym Usage

Cross, ill-natured, peevish, sullen refer to being in a bad mood or ill temper. Cross means temporarily in an irritable or fretful state, and somewhat angry: He gave her a cross reply and walked out of the room. Ill-natured implies a more permanent condition, without definite cause, and means unpleasant, unkind, inclined to snarl or be spiteful: an ill-natured dog; ill-natured spite. Peevish means complaining and snappish: She's acting like a peevish child again. Sullen suggests a kind of glowering silent gloominess and means refusing to speak because of bad humor, anger, or a sense of injury or resentment: I know I haven't called, but why are you suddenly so sullen and vindictive?

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• crossability
  noun
• crosser
  noun
• crossness
  noun
• recross
  verb
• crossable
  adjective
• uncrossable
  adjective
• crossly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• crosses
  plural

Adjectives

• crosser
  comparative
• crossest
  superlative

Participles

• crossing
  present
• crossed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cross
  simple
• crosses
  simple
• have crossed
  perfect
• has crossed
  perfect
• am crossing
  progressive
• are crossing
  progressive
• is crossing
  progressive
• have been crossing
  perfect progressive
• has been crossing
  perfect progressive

Past

• crossed
  simple
• had crossed
  perfect
• was crossing
  progressive
• were crossing
  progressive
• had been crossing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cross
  simple
• will have crossed
  perfect
• will be crossing
  progressive
• will have been crossing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cross

First recorded before 1000; Middle English, late Old English cros, from Old Norse kross, from Old Irish cros (from British Celtic ), from Latin crux; see crux

Explanation

When you cross something, you travel over it — like when you cross the street, after looking both ways and using the crosswalk, of course. A commercial pilot might cross the continent several times a week, and a boy might cross several back yards on his way to school. Another kind of cross is a written mark, an upended X on a piece of paper. There's also the adjective cross, which describes someone who is extremely cranky. The Latin root word crux means "stake or cross," but its figurative meaning, "trouble or misery," is related to to traditional use of wooden crosses to hang criminals.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cross Cross cross- crosses crosser crossest crossed crossing

"In the first half, we didn't play a really good game, but we could really count on everyone throwing everything into every ball and every cross," Jaissle said.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

Slavin’s crime, in his own account, was saying in a televised interview with CBS that censorship of news for service members would be a personal red line he would not cross.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

It found one of the most egregious errors occurred when air traffic controllers gave clearance to the fire truck crew to cross the runway while the jet was approaching.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

A controller cleared a responding firetruck to cross a runway, on which Air Canada Express Flight 8646 had also been cleared to land.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

But at the last second, when she looks up at me, I stick out my tongue and cross my eyes instead.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

Speaking on the 25th anniversary of Holy Cross, Fr Aidan Troy said that possibility is what keeps him "devoted to dialogue, to conversation, to searching for justice and to caring about people".

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent estimated that around 93,000 people may have been affected by the floods, and that "many homes have been destroyed or severely damaged".

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

It happened in north Belfast when loyalist protesters tried to block the route taken by Holy Cross school pupils and their parents, who were from a Catholic background, on their walk to class.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

The price for a new Yaris Cross, a small city SUV from Toyota, was $152,000.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

I look up and see that the members of the Red Cross form a cordon between us and the Director, who is raging at them, his face nearly crimson.

From "Internment" by Samira Ahmed

The new norms will enable standardised grip strength test results for cross- and within-country comparisons, to identify trends over time, monitor improvements and evaluate the effectiveness of implemented public health policies.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 6, 2024

Over defense objections, Judge Jeffrey Jahns allowed prosecutors to cross- examine Troyer about a 2015 complaint about a Facebook message Troyer sent to a man who had criticized the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2022

“These cross- defendants are professionals who owed a duty to those on set, including Baldwin, to keep the set safe,” Baldwin’s attorney’s Luke Nikas wrote in his complaint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2022

That could mean more questioning of witnesses from Senate Democrats, or cross- examination by Republicans — and with it more steep legal fees.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 7, 2019

Sitting cross- legged on his bed, Sohrab kept one eye on the muted television, the other on the harried lawyer.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

The metro no longer crosses the Dnieper River, which divides the capital in two, causing traffic chaos.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

The road where the otter was injured crosses several waterways that the animals often use, Pedrioli said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

The same chatbot, shown years of labs, imaging and diagnoses, can catch glucose, blood pressure and weight drifting up together, years before any one measure crosses a line.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Farage won more votes than he did when those parties stood against him at the 2024 general election, when he got 21,225 crosses on a much higher turnout of 58%, compared to 44% on Thursday.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

But when she crosses her arms and pouts, I realize Denny really did stand up for me.

From "Clairboyance" by Kristiana Kahakauwila

Today Kim Kardashian is a fashion mogul, prison reform advocate and crosser of picket lines.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2023

Future first-round draft pick Quentin Johnston took a short crosser from Duggan and turned it up the sideline for a 76-yard score that put the Frogs up 10.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2022

In the 58th minute, they pushed an interception into a counter, got a crosser from Emily Moxley down the right wing, and the Bruins couldn’t keep everyone marked.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 5, 2022

A fine crosser, his energy often drives the team forward in difficult moments.

From BBC ● May 24, 2022

She pointed to a section of the fence, and I began leading the horses to it, while Ruth seemed to get crosser and crosser with me, saying I was doing everything wrong.

From "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro

“You’re the crossest person in it!” returned Amy, washing out the sum that was all wrong with the tears that had fallen on her slate.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

Cousin Retty had a new baby, a little girl; but she said it was the crossest thing alive, and it did seem to cry a good deal.

From A Little Girl of Long Ago by Amanda Minnie Douglas

I came to you as a punishment, for Polly always said you were the crossest woman she ever met.”

From Polly A New-Fashioned Girl by L. T. Meade

I like that truth about a good dinner 'availing' to secure peace, and the advice to 'caress' your bear when he is at his crossest.

From Clover by Susan Coolidge

Oweneen the Sprat is the name he goes by, and he's the crossest little thief in the Barony.

From Further Experiences of an Irish R.M. by Martin Ross

His battalion crossed over to France in June 1944 in the days following D-Day and Turrell landed on Sword Beach before taking part in fierce fighting.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

"I don't know whether they crossed the border or not," Mukherjee says.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

He eventually crossed over to Adult Swim, where he found a suitable home for his mischievous ideas.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

The pump price for diesel in California has crossed $7 a gallon for the first time since June, according weekly assessments from the Energy Information Administration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Jeff added, shaking his head as we crossed the yard.

From "Firegirl" by Tony Abbott

The flooding also resulted in "significant impacts to infrastructure," destroying footbridges and blocking hikers from crossing Bright Angel Creek, the park service said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 31, 2026

The Black Bridge and Silver Bridge crossing the Colorado River are also closed until further notice with no estimated reopening date.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2026

Specialist search teams scaling mountains and cliff faces, or crossing raging rivers to try to get to the worst-affected areas.

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

The Gyirong Port is also a major border crossing between Nepal and China as well as an important trade route.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026

Zayd runs out of our house, and I'm glad to see that this time he remembers to stop to look both ways before crossing the street.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Related Words

• cruise
• cut across
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse