Synonyms

cross-pollinate

American

[kraws-pol-uh-neyt, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈpɒl əˌneɪt, ˈkrɒs- /

verb (used with object)

cross-pollinated, cross-pollinating

to subject to cross-pollination.

cross-pollinate British

verb

to subject or be subjected to cross-pollination

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cross-pollinate

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The bank thinks it can get its various lines of business—from consumer deposits to wealth management to investment banking—to cross-pollinate faster and fuel profits.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

“I see this space as being an incubator. We know that when you cross-pollinate creatives, good things happen.”

From Seattle Times • Jun. 4, 2024

We cross-pollinate plants that have the attributes that we’re looking for.

From Scientific American • Oct. 26, 2023

"One of the Madonna's skills is that she's able to cross-pollinate ideas between different projects," said Price.

From BBC • Oct. 11, 2023

They were virtually impossible to cross-pollinate and rarely generated hybrids.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023