Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Jump To:
  • cross reference
    cross reference
    noun
    a reference from one part of a book, index, or the like, to related material, as a word or illustration, in another part.
  • cross-reference
    cross-reference
    verb (used with or without object)
    to provide with cross references.

cross reference

1 American  

noun

  1. a reference from one part of a book, index, or the like, to related material, as a word or illustration, in another part.


cross-reference 2 American  
[kraws-ref-er-uhns, -ref-ruhns, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈrɛf ər əns, -ˈrɛf rəns, ˈkrɒs- /

verb (used with or without object)

cross-references, present (3rd person singular) cross-referenced, past participle, past cross-referencing present participle
  1. to provide with cross references.

    The new encyclopedia is completely cross-referenced.

  2. cross-refer.


cross-reference British  

noun

  1. a reference within a text to another part of the text

"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

verb

  1. to cross-refer

"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

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of cross reference1

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of cross-reference2

First recorded in 1900–05

Explanation

When a book mentions something from a different part of the same book, that's a cross-reference. In a textbook, a cross-reference might look like this: "See page 123." Cross-reference, "a reference in a book to another part of it," was coined in the 19th century. It's a way to add more information without going into wordy detail, similar to using a footnote or endnote in academic writing. If you look up "Amelia Earhart" in an index at the back of a book, you might see cross-references such as "See also: Earhart, Amelia" and "See also: aviators."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing cross-reference

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.

See Examples For:

The Mayo Clinic provides some symptoms of BPD, which you can cross reference with your experience of your mother-in-law.

From MarketWatch Apr. 29, 2026

JXN Water, the corporation Henifin formed to manage water infrastructure projects, will cross reference the Entergy customer records with city records to see what homes might be using water without a utility account.

From Seattle Times Aug. 22, 2023

The government body does not use any fraud detection systems to cross reference the identities on applications, and currently employs no trained fraud investigators.

From BBC Dec. 1, 2021

These people have different agendas and different biases, and you cross reference those lies.

From Salon Feb. 29, 2020

I've done the best I could for you on such short notice—with Uncle Sidney trying his level best to get a cross reference to the board before taking action.

From Empire Builders by Hambidge, Jay

Admins now zoom in on aluminum cans to cross-reference dent patterns.

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 15, 2026

The cases don’t cross-reference one another, as often happens when the court decides two similar cases in the same term.

From Slate Jul. 1, 2026

With details of the batch, Roo's team were able to cross-reference with the bottle he was still taking drops from every day.

From BBC Apr. 16, 2026

You should also cross-reference the posted information with what local and state government officials, first responders, disaster relief agencies, known nonprofit organizations and trusted media outlets are saying on their official websites.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 10, 2025

I had one more name I needed to cross-reference with Bobbie Lyles.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

She cross-references the many striking photos taken during the late September publicity shoot commissioned by the project’s director of public relations, Merle Crowell.

From The Wall Street Journal May 22, 2026

Since then, AFP has automated area calculations of the geographic files supplied by ISW and cross-references them with the size of Ukrainian regions.

From Barron's Feb. 24, 2026

The California Department of Justice monitors individuals who legally purchase firearms under the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, a statewide database that cross-references purchases against other records.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 20, 2023

Starting from the dawn of the modern encyclopedia, you could argue that the whole structure of empirical human knowledge is built out of the rivets and bolts of footnotes and cross-references.

From Slate Mar. 1, 2023

I checked the Talmudic cross-references for parallel texts and memorized whatever differences I found.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

For the report, the UN agency cross-referenced data showing where the roughly 2.4 billion children on the planet live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate impacts.

From Barron's Jun. 16, 2026

You never cross-referenced her number on the school’s parent list with the one on the text.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 5, 2025

Californians are required to verify their identities when they register to vote, and that information is cross-referenced with Department of Motor Vehicle files.

From Los Angeles Times Jun. 25, 2025

Researchers in Australia re-examined the data from thousands of these cores and cross-referenced them with historical sea temperature records from the UK’s Hadley Centre.

From BBC Aug. 7, 2024

These tests were, of course, cross-referenced with the fake educational background and work history that I’d given to my bogus Bryce Lynch identity.

From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline

Finally, by cross-referencing my room type and date of stay, she identified my holy grail as the Hotel Bellazure Duo Down Soft Feather Pillow, which I promptly ordered online for $95.

From The Wall Street Journal Nov. 1, 2025

I studied the pages like scripture — cross-referencing crust ratios, comparing jam methods, building a menu as though I were prepping for an exam.

From Salon Oct. 14, 2025

These powerful applications provide a virtual fire hose of real-time information, including location and address history, cross-referencing usernames, and fingerprinting a user based on writing style.

From Slate Feb. 5, 2025

By cross-referencing its maps and the fire footprints with maps of local hiking trails, I determined which routes were in the burn area.

From Los Angeles Times Jan. 22, 2025

I rearrange a few pill bottles, making sure one more time that everything is in the same chronological order as what I programmed into the app after cross-referencing his Donkey Kong-covered regimen.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training