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

There is no language they can’t learn and no reference too obscure for them to cross-check against the entirety of their training data.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

Platforms like GoodRx provide a vital cross-check, listing similar coupons alongside separate pharmacy discounts that can sometimes beat federal rates.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 9, 2026

"We will cross-check the data with the babies who departed, so we know exactly who departed, who accompanied them, when they departed, and who the adopters there are," Surawan told reporters.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2025

The effort seemed cobbled together by someone who typed “sanctuary” and a city’s name into Google and swallowed whatever the AI spat up without even bothering to cross-check with Wikipedia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2025

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 Bury, G. Wyman (George Wyman)

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 Moisa, Dorin Teodor

Records of purchases were cross-checked against the party's accounts.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

This calculation takes into account obituaries that cite 2025 as the year of death or burial, but we have not yet fully processed or cross-checked.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

The charging major assessed on Gourde at the time came moments after he’d been cross-checked from behind by Oilers superstar Connor McDavid without a penalty being called.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 20, 2024

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

From Science Daily ● Dec. 13, 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

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

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2025

Winger Evander Kane, who was making his season debut for the Oilers, was on the ice just 95 seconds before drawing a cross-checking penalty, giving the Kings the man advantage.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2025

Only careful cross-checking would reveal whether the individual was speaking of the 1860's or the 1890's.

From Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society by Murphy, Robert F.