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• cross section
  cross section

  noun

  a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, especially at right angles to the longest axis.
• cross-section
  cross-section

  adjective

  Also cross-sectional. of or relating to a cross section.

cross section

¹ American  

[kraws sek-shuhn, kros] / ˈkrɔs ˌsɛk ʃən, ˈkrɒs /

noun

• cross sections
  plural

1. a section made by a plane cutting anything transversely, especially at right angles to the longest axis.

2. a piece so cut off.

3. a photograph, diagram, or other pictorial representation of such a section.

4. the act of cutting anything across.

5. a typical selection; a sample showing all characteristic parts, relationships, etc..

   a cross section of American opinion.

6. Surveying. a vertical section of the ground surface taken at right angles to a survey line.

7. 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.

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cross-section ² American  

[kraws-sek-shuhn, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˈsɛk ʃən, ˈkrɒs- /

adjective

1. Also cross-sectional. of or relating to a cross section.

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verb (used with object)

1. to make or divide into a cross section.

cross section British  

noun

1. maths a plane surface formed by cutting across a solid, esp perpendicular to its longest axis

2. a section cut off in this way

3. the act of cutting anything in this way

4. a random selection or sample, esp one regarded as representative

   a cross section of the public

5. surveying a vertical section of a line of ground at right angles to a survey line

6. 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

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cross section Scientific  

1. In particle physics, an expression of the probability of the occurrence of an event, typically the scattering of subatomic particles, over a given area.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cross-sectional
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cross sections
  plural

Etymology

Origin of cross section¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of cross-section²

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cross section cross-section

A cross section of a T. rex leg bone typically preserves information from just the final 10 to 20 years of the animal's life.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 22, 2026

A broader cross section of thousands of fund returns make up commonly used performance indexes published by Cambridge Associates and MSCI.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025

Louisiana that the Sixth Amendment demands a jury drawn from a representative cross section of the community.

From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025

The setting allows for a cross section of humanity, united in distress, and occasional passages of sociopolitical commentary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 9, 2025

The subjects were chosen from across the country to represent an accurate cross section of American schoolchildren.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

A compelling model comes from the burgeoning global movement of citizens’ assemblies — deliberative bodies in which a randomly selected, representative cross-section of the public is convened to consider complex policy questions.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026

The original 1970s machine took nearly five hours to produce one blurry cross-section of a human torso.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

For the comedy show, Lin says she’s mindful about booking a diverse group of comedians, with a cross-section of ethnic and LGBTQ+ backgrounds, as well as a mix of emerging and established performers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2026

Cabbages, namely their undulating cross-section patterns, have appeared as designs in outerwear and accessories.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2026

The result in effect is a cross-section of mountain, which is not a view you get every day, or indeed anywhere else along the Appalachian Trail that I am aware of.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• random sample
• sampling