a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, especially at right angles to the longest axis.
a piece so cut off.
a photograph, diagram, or other pictorial representation of such a section.
the act of cutting anything across.
a typical selection; a sample showing all characteristic parts, relationships, etc..
a cross section of American opinion.
Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken at right angles to a survey line.
Also called nuclear cross section. Physics. a quantity expressing the effective area that a given nucleus presents as a target to a bombarding particle, giving a measure of the probability that the particle will induce a reaction.
maths a plane surface formed by cutting across a solid, esp perpendicular to its longest axis
a section cut off in this way
the act of cutting anything in this way
a random selection or sample, esp one regarded as representative
a cross section of the public
surveying a vertical section of a line of ground at right angles to a survey line
physics a measure of the probability that a collision process will result in a particular reaction. It is expressed by the effective area that one participant presents as a target for the other
First recorded in 1825–35
First recorded in 1875–80
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The American middle class encompasses a broad cross section of workers that includes white-collar office employees, nurses and plumbers, although there is no universally accepted definition.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 21, 2025
Louisiana that the Sixth Amendment demands a jury drawn from a representative cross section of the community.
From Slate • Oct. 23, 2025
"By amplifying the fusion cross section, more power can be produced from the same amount of fuel," said Parisi.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
“Hopefully our country can get back to that. The Owens Valley, and Inyo County in particular, is a perfect cross section of America.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 19, 2024
Most of Wylan’s plans showed the Ice Court from above, but the prison elevation was a side view, a cross section showing the building’s floors stacked on top of one another.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
