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double-cross

[ duhb-uh l-kraws, -kros ]
/ ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /
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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.

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RELATED WORDS

beguile, betray, bluff, cheat, con, cross, deceive, defraud, dupe, hoodwink, humbug, juggle, mislead, scam, sell, split, swindle, trick, two-time, four-flush

Nearby words

  1. double-check,
  2. double-click,
  3. double-clutch,
  4. double-crested cormorant,
  5. double-crop,
  6. double-crostic,
  7. double-cut,
  8. double-date,
  9. double-deal,
  10. double-dealing

Origin of double-cross

First recorded in 1900–05
Related formsdou·ble-cross·er, noun

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

British Dictionary definitions for double-cross

double-cross

verb

(tr) to cheat or betray

noun

the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal
Derived Formsdouble-crosser, noun

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
Word Origin and History for double-cross

double-cross

n.

1834, from double (adj.) + cross (n.) in the sense of "pre-arranged swindle or fix." Originally to win a race after promising to lose it. As a verb from 1903, American English. Related: Double-crossed; double-crossing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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.