cross-check

American  

[kraws-chek, kros-, kraws-chek, -chek, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈtʃɛk, ˈkrɒs-, ˈkrɔsˌtʃɛk, -ˈtʃɛk, ˈkrɒs- /

verb (used with object)

• cross-checks,
  present (3rd person singular)
• cross-checked,
  past participle,  past
• cross-checking
  present participle

1. to determine the accuracy of (something) by checking it with various sources.

2. Ice Hockey. to execute a cross-check on (an opponent).

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noun

1. the act of cross-checking.

2. a means of cross-checking.

   I examined contemporary newspaper reports as a cross-check on his account.

3. Ice Hockey. an obstructing or impeding of the movement or progress of an opponent by placing the stick, with both hands, across the opponent's body or face.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cross-checker
  noun

Inflected Forms

Participles

• cross-checking
  present
• cross-checked
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cross-check
  simple
• cross-checks
  simple
• have cross-checked
  perfect
• has cross-checked
  perfect
• am cross-checking
  progressive
• are cross-checking
  progressive
• is cross-checking
  progressive
• have been cross-checking
  perfect progressive
• has been cross-checking
  perfect progressive

Past

• cross-checked
  simple
• had cross-checked
  perfect
• was cross-checking
  progressive
• were cross-checking
  progressive
• had been cross-checking
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cross-check
  simple
• will have cross-checked
  perfect
• will be cross-checking
  progressive
• will have been cross-checking
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cross-check

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cross-check cross-checks cross-checked cross-checking

Check bank and credit-card statements to cross-check reported revenue.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

The voter lists will be “based entirely” on data from the states, and the post office “will not change the content” or even cross-check it against other sources.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The scheme, coordinated by the Cabinet Office's fraud team, external, allows councils to cross-check social housing records against Airbnb listings in an effort to tackle what the government calls "social housing fraud."

From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026

This layered approach allows researchers to cross-check results in multiple ways.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2026

We used to time our emissaries to their return and cross-check them where their wanderings intersected those of others—all were supposed to be trackers and one or two knew something about it.

From Pan-Islam by G. Wyman (George Wyman) Bury

AI-powered software then combines and cross-checks data to provide an accurate location.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026

Further investigations and cross-checks led to the arrest of a fourth, suspected of having parked the truck under the museum gallery, said Beccuau.

From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026

Mr Marks said the additional cross-checks against UK tax and payroll data were dropped after the pilot was extended, in order to "streamline the process".

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025

She says the interviews and cross-checks of birth certificates with other life documents are effective at catching potential inconsistencies.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2024

On symbolic model, this problem does not occur, due to multiple cross-checks between elements and relations.

From The Brain, A Decoded Enigma by Dorin Teodor Moisa

So scientists anchor the world’s coordinates to far-off stillness: quasars, the luminous cores of galaxies billions of light-years away, observed nightly by radio telescopes across multiple continents and cross-checked with lasers bounced off satellites.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026

Those affected will be cross-checked against security services’ databases, to see whether they have previously been flagged as suspected Islamist extremists or for other radicalism, Nunez said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2024

In the study, information from large national registers was cross-checked.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 2023

Silver pointed out that the methodology behind the study was simple math: Researchers cross-checked voter registrations against death records, county by county, and added them up.

From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2023

The clerk told Roy to wait while he cross-checked the street location.

From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen

When there is a match, they compare the person to information they scraped from social media, using reverse image searching and cross-checking public profiles.

From Slate ● Jan. 28, 2026

The review process requires careful research and cross-checking.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026

This would require verifying Harjit Kaur's origin and identity in Punjab through photos, cross-checking with relatives or acquaintances or finding old records, which would take at least a few weeks.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2025

For investigators, what once required weeks of cross-checking siloed systems can now be done in hours or less.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2025

Many thanks to Kensington Library, London, for allowing the use of their copy in cross-checking the transcription.

From A Historical Survey of the Customs, Habits, & Present State of the Gypsies by John Hoyland