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cross reference
cross referencenouna reference from one part of a book, index, or the like, to related material, as a word or illustration, in another part.
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cross-reference
cross-referenceverb (used with or without object)to provide with cross references.
cross reference
1 Americannoun
verb (used with or without object)
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to provide with cross references.
The new encyclopedia is completely cross-referenced.
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cross-referencesimple
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cross-referencessimple
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have cross-referencedperfect
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has cross-referencedperfect
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am cross-referencingprogressive
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are cross-referencingprogressive
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is cross-referencingprogressive
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have been cross-referencingperfect progressive
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has been cross-referencingperfect progressive
Past
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cross-referencedsimple
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had cross-referencedperfect
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was cross-referencingprogressive
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were cross-referencingprogressive
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had been cross-referencingperfect progressive
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."
Vocabulary lists containing cross-reference
Choosing and Evaluating Sources
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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.