cut across


verb(preposition)
  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

Words Nearby cut across

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use cut across in a sentence

  • He has an ugly scar—a knife-cut—across the back of one hand; you can't mistake him if you get sight of him.

    Raw Gold | Bertrand W. Sinclair
  • I made a short cut across the graveyard of Saint Francis, or I must have met the escort.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • They came to a place where the river made a wide bend and they cut across it, clear of the trees.

    The Stars, My Brothers | Edmond Hamilton
  • A number of slots are cut across one side of the can, and the lower edge of each slot slightly turned out to form a cutting edge.

  • Bernard's farm is cut across by the Port Royal road, the old road to Richmond, and by the railroad.

    The Boys of '61 | Charles Carleton Coffin.

Other Idioms and Phrases with cut across

cut across

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.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.