crossing

American  

[kraw-sing, kros-ing] / ˈkrɔ sɪŋ, ˈkrɒs ɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or thing that crosses. cross.

2. a place where lines, streets, tracks, etc., cross each other.

3. a place at which a road, railroad track, river, etc., may be crossed. crossed.

4. hybridization; crossbreeding.

5. the act of opposing or thwarting; frustration; contradiction.

6. the intersection of nave and transept in a cruciform church.

7. Railroads. a track structure composed of four connected frogs, permitting two tracks to cross each other at grade with sufficient clearance for wheel flanges.

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crossing British  

/ ˈkrɒsɪŋ /

noun

1. the place where one thing crosses another

2. a place, often shown by markings, lights, or poles, where a street, railway, etc, may be crossed

3. the intersection of the nave and transept in a church

4. the act or instance of travelling across something, esp the sea

5. the act or process of crossbreeding

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Other Word Forms

• subcrossing noun

Etymology

Origin of crossing

1375–1425; late Middle English. See cross, -ing ¹

Example Sentences

He said he is often left waiting at the end of a shift for his wife and co-worker Anne, 85, who can always be found on the corner of the crossing talking to passers-by.

From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026

“We are crossing all sorts of tipping points in the Middle East,” said Mohamed El-Erian, chief economic adviser at Allianz, in a Fox Business interview Friday.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 28, 2026

The municipality’s main problem for the moment, Charafeddine said, was that only one crossing into Tyre survives, a narrow bridge on the old coastal road.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

Two container vessels belonging to China’s state-owned Cosco Shipping were turned back from crossing the roughly 20-mile chokepoint Friday, according to ship tracker MarineTraffic and Chinese crew members nearby.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

The Confederates had seen the patrol crossing the Rappahannock on the ferry.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Related Words

• bridge
• crossroad
• intersection
• junction
• overpass
• passage