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

“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

Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta's relationship has cut across a range of strands over the years - and evolved along with their managerial styles.

From BBC • Apr. 17, 2026

The layoffs will hit Lucid’s engineers the hardest, with about 140 jobs being cut across software and hardware engineering teams.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 26, 2026

It tacked well off from them, and then, at the end of a long angle, it tacked again and came back in with the sea breeze;Turner began to row to cut across it.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Related Words

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