cross-cultural

American  

[kraws-kuhl-cher-uhl, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈkʌl tʃər əl, ˈkrɒs- /

adjective

1. combining, pertaining to, or contrasting two or more cultures or cultural groups.

   cross-cultural studies; cross-cultural communication.

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cross-cultural British  

adjective

1. involving or bridging the differences between cultures

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Other Word Forms

• cross-culturally
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cross-cultural

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

"It also has a striking cross-cultural element. The star pointers carry their standard names in Persian, alongside Sanskrit equivalents etched in the Devanagari script."

From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026

The track, The Shadowy Light, paired her unmistakable voice with a cross-cultural ensemble, its imagery of a boatman guiding a soul across unknown waters reflecting on death and the afterlife.

From BBC • Apr. 12, 2026

While essentially a disaster film, the visually alarming and nerve-racking “Fukushima” is also a cross-cultural psychodrama, about an industry, and perhaps a society, having a meltdown all its own.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 5, 2026

"There is a huge amount of cross-cultural diversity in human mating and marriage practices, but even the extremes of the spectrum still sit above what we see in most non-monogamous species," said Dyble.

From Science Daily • Jan. 22, 2026

The neuropsychologist James W. Prescott has performed a startling cross-cultural statistical analysis of 400 preindustrial societies and found that cultures that lavish physical affection on infants tend to be disinclined to violence.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan