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

“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 study also supports a broader shift in psychiatry toward dimensional and data-driven frameworks that cut across traditional diagnoses.

From Science Daily • Apr. 9, 2026

"What it tells us is we actually need to just do more than ban phones. We need to be thinking about how phone policies cut across in school and outside the school context."

From BBC • Mar. 18, 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

His mustache becomes a red unhappy cut across his mouth.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

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