cross-pollinate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
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
We cross-pollinate plants that have the attributes that we’re looking for.
From Scientific American • Oct. 26, 2023
Unless you’re growing a multigraft espalier, or your neighbors have apple trees in their garden, to get good fruit set, you’ll need to plant more than one variety so the trees can cross-pollinate.
From Seattle Times • Oct. 21, 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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
