double-cross

[ duhb-uh l-kraws, -kros ]

/ ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR double-cross ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object) Informal.

to prove treacherous to; betray or swindle, as by a double cross.

Nearby words

double-check, double-click, double-clutch, double-crested cormorant, double-crop, double-cross, double-crostic, double-cut, double-date, double-deal, double-dealing

Origin of double-cross

First recorded in 1900–05

Related forms

dou·ble-cross·er, noun

Definition for double-cross (2 of 2)

double cross

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.

Origin of double cross

First recorded in 1825–35

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for double-cross

"But they double-cross me every chance they get, Judson," he said as they walked to the county courthouse together.
Mountain|Clement Wood
Tried to double-cross me with a friend—but one that counted!
The Salamander|Owen Johnson
But he's a hard man with bad intentions toward Jennie, an' I'd double-cross him any day.
The Lone Star Ranger|Zane Grey
You must have been locoed or drunk, to double-cross me thet way.
The Mysterious Rider|Zane Grey

It didn't seem possible that Bridge could be going to double-cross him.
The Mucker|Edgar Rice Burroughs

British Dictionary definitions for double-cross (1 of 2)

double-cross

verb

(tr) to cheat or betray

noun

the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

Derived Forms

double-crosser, noun

British Dictionary definitions for double-cross (2 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

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

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]