double cross
Save This Word!
noun
a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.Compare cross (def. 21).
Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.
QUIZZES
QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!
Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
Origin of double cross
First recorded in 1825–35
Words nearby double cross
Definition for double cross (2 of 2)
double-cross
[ duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros ]
/ ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /
verb (used with object) Informal.
to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.
Origin of double-cross
First recorded in 1900–05
OTHER WORDS FROM double-cross
double-crosser, nounDictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
Example sentences from the Web for double cross
British Dictionary definitions for double cross (1 of 2)
double cross
noun
a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines
British Dictionary definitions for double cross (2 of 2)
double-cross
verb
(tr) to cheat or betray
noun
the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal
Derived forms of double-cross
double-crosser, nounCollins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with double cross
double cross
A deliberate betrayal; violation of a promise or obligation, as in They had planned a double cross, intending to keep all of the money for themselves. This usage broadens the term's earlier sense in sports gambling, where it alluded to the duplicity of a contestant who breaks his word after illicitly promising to lose. Both usages gave rise to the verb double-cross. [Late 1800s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.