crosscut

American  

[kraws-kuht, kros-] / ˈkrɔsˌkʌt, ˈkrɒs- /

adjective

1. made or used for cutting crosswise.

2. cut across the grain or on the bias.

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noun

1. a transverse cut or course.

2. a shortcut by way of an area not ordinarily traversed, as grass or open country; a route that cuts diagonally across a road or path network.

3. Mining. an underground passageway, usually from a shaft to a vein of ore or crosswise of a vein of ore.

4. Movies, Television. an act or instance of crosscutting.

5. a crosscut saw.

verb (used with object)

crosscut, crosscutting

1. to cut or go across.

2. Movies, Television. to insert into a scene or sequence (portions of another scene), as to heighten suspense or suggest simultaneous action.

verb (used without object)

crosscut, crosscutting

1. Movies, Television. to employ the technique of crosscutting.

crosscut British  

/ ˈkrɒsˌkʌt /

adjective

1. cut at right angles or obliquely to the major axis

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noun

1. a transverse cut or course

2. a less common word for short cut

3. mining a tunnel through a vein of ore or from the shaft to a vein

verb

1. to cut across

2. Also: intercut.  films to link (two sequences or two shots) so that they appear to be taking place at the same time

Other Word Forms

• crosscutter noun

Etymology

Origin of crosscut

First recorded in 1580–90; cross- + cut

Example Sentences

“I don’t like the crosscut, because you’re relying on someone else.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 5, 2025

One day, her four-person crew hiked three miles into the woods toting a crosscut saw.

From Washington Post • Sep. 15, 2021

The threat of danger is palpable, but it’s crosscut by a flicker of joy — she’s making a break for it, running away, getting free.

From New York Times • Nov. 27, 2019

Howe and Stokes both grew up in Portland, and neither had a background in timber cutting, let alone using crosscut saws - the 19th-century tool known by lumberjacks as a “misery whip.”

From Washington Times • Oct. 28, 2018

I wouldn’t have been more scared if someone had thrown a crosscut saw at me.

From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls

Related Words

• cut across
• transect