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• cross section
  cross section

  noun

  a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, especially at right angles to the longest axis.
• cross-section
  cross-section

  adjective

  Also cross-sectional. of or relating to a cross section.

cross section

¹ American  

[kraws sek-shuhn, kros] / ˈkrɔs ˌsɛk ʃən, ˈkrɒs /

noun

• cross sections
  plural

1. a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, especially at right angles to the longest axis.

2. a piece so cut off.

3. a photograph, diagram, or other pictorial representation of such a section.

4. the act of cutting anything across.

5. a typical selection; a sample showing all characteristic parts, relationships, etc..

   a cross section of American opinion.

6. Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken at right angles to a survey line.

7. Also called nuclear cross section.  Physics. a quantity expressing the effective area that a given nucleus presents as a target to a bombarding particle, giving a measure of the probability that the particle will induce a reaction.

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cross-section ² American  

[kraws-sek-shuhn, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈsɛk ʃən, ˈkrɒs- /

adjective

1. Also cross-sectional. of or relating to a cross section.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make or divide into a cross section.

cross section British  

noun

1. maths a plane surface formed by cutting across a solid, esp perpendicular to its longest axis

2. a section cut off in this way

3. the act of cutting anything in this way

4. a random selection or sample, esp one regarded as representative

   a cross section of the public

5. surveying a vertical section of a line of ground at right angles to a survey line

6. physics a measure of the probability that a collision process will result in a particular reaction. It is expressed by the effective area that one participant presents as a target for the other

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cross section Scientific  

1. In particle physics, an expression of the probability of the occurrence of an event, typically the scattering of subatomic particles, over a given area.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cross-sectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cross sections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cross section¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of cross-section²

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cross section cross-section

It’s an interesting cross section of where the population’s at.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

“It was just extraordinary to get that cross section of people who care together,” says Earle, who applauded Eilish’s “passion for nature and the ocean.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2025

Louisiana that the Sixth Amendment demands a jury drawn from a representative cross section of the community.

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025

“These days we’ve got a truly diverse cross section of South Africa coming to the event, all ages, races, and genders,” says rAge project director, Michael James.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024

We had them all facing the same way so that their shadows on the wall looked like a computer rendering of an architectural cross section.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

In 2020, she was among a cross-section of public figures who signed an open letter denouncing cancel culture, saying it weakens open debate by shutting people down.

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Situational spoke to its banks and other hedge funds about selling a cross-section of its portfolio in one fell swoop.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

A compelling model comes from the burgeoning global movement of citizens’ assemblies — deliberative bodies in which a randomly selected, representative cross-section of the public is convened to consider complex policy questions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

A larger atmosphere presents a bigger cross-section to incoming starlight, allowing it to absorb more radiation.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

The result in effect is a cross-section of mountain, which is not a view you get every day, or indeed anywhere else along the Appalachian Trail that I am aware of.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• random sample
• sampling