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• double cross
  double cross

  noun

  a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.
• double-cross
  double-cross

  verb (used with object)

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

double cross

¹ American  

noun

1. a betrayal or swindle of a colleague.

2. an attempt to win a contest that one has agreed beforehand to lose.

3. Genetics. a cross in which both parents are first-generation hybrids from single crosses, thus involving four inbred lines.

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double-cross ² American  

[duhb-uhl-kraws, -kros] / ˈdʌb əlˈkrɔs, -ˈkrɒs /

verb (used with object)

Informal.

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

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double-cross ¹ British  

verb

1. (tr) to cheat or betray

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noun

1. the act or an instance of double-crossing; betrayal

double cross ² British  

noun

1. a technique for producing hybrid stock, esp seed for cereal crops, by crossing the hybrids between two different pairs of inbred lines

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double cross Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

• double-crosser
  noun

Etymology

Origin of double cross¹

First recorded in 1825–35

Origin of double-cross²

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

Then a double cross happens, and Rachel learns what some viewers might have suspected — that one of her colleagues is in cahoots with Keya!

From Salon • Aug. 14, 2023

But those who don’t keep up with the latest cybercrime trends may feel they have no choice but to acquiesce, and will only grasp the double cross only after the check has cleared.

From Slate • May 18, 2022

"You can choose to lie to a character, you can help them, you can gain their trust, you can double cross folks," said Ann Morrow Johnson, executive producer and creative director for Walt Disney Imagineering.

From Reuters • Feb. 25, 2022

Still, the Jefferson dream lives on, in the form of flags — a gold pan and two Xs, a heavy-handed symbol of the double cross — that, during the pandemic, have adorned face masks.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 21, 2021

Not since the days of George Blake's double cross had the CIA found itself in such a hall of mirrors.

From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau