cut across

British  

verb

1. (intr) to be contrary to ordinary procedure or limitations

   opinion on European integration still cuts clean across party lines

2. to cross or traverse, making a shorter route

   she cut across the field quickly

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cut across Idioms  

1. Go beyond, transcend, as in The new regulations cut across class lines. This figurative use of cut across, which literally means “run through” or “intersect,” dates from the 1920s.

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Example Sentences

“Trying to be not only a sport, but a sort of platform that could cut across a lot of other elements of entertainment, of lifestyle, of technology.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

The court decided that allowing the appeal would have cut across "detailed and comprehensive" laws passed by parliament to protect children.

From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026

“I don’t think about it in raw numbers. I think about it in the wealth of expertise and knowledge that has been cut across all levels,” a former senior Justice Department official said.

From Salon • Apr. 22, 2026

The Walt Disney Co. has begun a broad round of layoffs, which will result in 1,000 jobs being cut across multiple divisions within the Burbank entertainment giant.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

We weave around the kids in wheelchairs, then cut across the grass to the office.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Related Words

• cruise
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse