cross reference
noun
a reference from one part of a book, index, or the like, to related material, as a word or illustration, in another part.
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cross reference
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cross-reference
cross-referenceverb (used with or without object)to provide with cross references.
cross reference
1 Americannoun
cross-reference
2
American
[kraws-ref-er-uhns, -ref-ruhns, kros-]
/ ˈkrɔsˈrɛf ər əns, -ˈrɛf rəns, ˈkrɒs- /
verb (used with or without object)
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cross-references,
present (3rd person singular)
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cross-referenced,
past participle, past
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cross-referencing
present participle
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to provide with cross references.
The new encyclopedia is completely cross-referenced.
cross-reference
British
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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cross-referencesimple
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cross-referencessimple
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have cross-referencedperfect
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has cross-referencedperfect
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am cross-referencingprogressive
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are cross-referencingprogressive
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is cross-referencingprogressive
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have been cross-referencingperfect progressive
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has been cross-referencingperfect progressive
Past
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cross-referencedsimple
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had cross-referencedperfect
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was cross-referencingprogressive
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were cross-referencingprogressive
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had been cross-referencingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cross reference1
First recorded in 1825–35
Origin of cross-reference2
First recorded in 1900–05
Explanation
When a book mentions something from a different part of the same book, that's a cross-reference. In a textbook, a cross-reference might look like this: "See page 123." Cross-reference, "a reference in a book to another part of it," was coined in the 19th century. It's a way to add more information without going into wordy detail, similar to using a footnote or endnote in academic writing. If you look up "Amelia Earhart" in an index at the back of a book, you might see cross-references such as "See also: Earhart, Amelia" and "See also: aviators."
Vocabulary lists containing cross-reference
Choosing and Evaluating Sources
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Mayo Clinic provides some symptoms of BPD, which you can cross reference with your experience of your mother-in-law.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 29, 2026
"They are meant to cross reference to see if they are on a course, not on a course, or where they are," he said.
From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026
JXN Water, the corporation Henifin formed to manage water infrastructure projects, will cross reference the Entergy customer records with city records to see what homes might be using water without a utility account.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 22, 2023
These people have different agendas and different biases, and you cross reference those lies.
From Salon ● Feb. 29, 2020
I've done the best I could for you on such short notice—with Uncle Sidney trying his level best to get a cross reference to the board before taking action.
From Empire Builders by Jay Hambidge
Admins now zoom in on aluminum cans to cross-reference dent patterns.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
The cases don’t cross-reference one another, as often happens when the court decides two similar cases in the same term.
From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026
She begins to cross-reference family lore with a stunning trove of mail in original packaging, baptismal records from remote towns, court filings and Freedom of Information requests.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Having the location of each attack, we were able to calculate the time of filming using the shadows and to cross-reference with weather records to find the most likely date.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
I had one more name I needed to cross-reference with Bobbie Lyles.
From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin
She cross-references the many striking photos taken during the late September publicity shoot commissioned by the project’s director of public relations, Merle Crowell.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Since then, AFP has automated area calculations of the geographic files supplied by ISW and cross-references them with the size of Ukrainian regions.
From Barron's ● Feb. 24, 2026
Another observer cross-references the license plates against a running database.
From Slate ● Jan. 16, 2026
The California Department of Justice monitors individuals who legally purchase firearms under the Armed and Prohibited Persons System, a statewide database that cross-references purchases against other records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2023
You fill out a survey, a computer analyzes your answers, then it cross-references with the other surveys.
From "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher
The researchers combined multiple collection techniques, ecological observations, DNA barcoding, and statistics with ACG estimates which were then cross-referenced to multiple different groups, including trees, amphibians and moths.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
For the report, the UN agency cross-referenced data showing where the roughly 2.4 billion children on the planet live with the geographic distribution of the eight most common climate impacts.
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
He cross-referenced books, a catalog from the 1920s, and photos on the British Museum’s website, and became convinced that some of the items he’d seen on eBay were part of the British Museum’s collection.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
When another spate of fires sprang up around a 1989 arson sleuth conference near Monterey, Casey cross-referenced a list of attendees with the first list.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 29, 2025
It appeared as a jumble of cascading windows floating in front of me, displaying text, maps, photos, and audio and video files, all indexed, cross-referenced, and pulsing with life.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
In interviews the report authors say this led them to be extra careful when it came to cross-referencing and fact-checking evidence they included.
From BBC ● May 12, 2026
Finally, by cross-referencing my room type and date of stay, she identified my holy grail as the Hotel Bellazure Duo Down Soft Feather Pillow, which I promptly ordered online for $95.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025
I studied the pages like scripture — cross-referencing crust ratios, comparing jam methods, building a menu as though I were prepping for an exam.
From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025
These powerful applications provide a virtual fire hose of real-time information, including location and address history, cross-referencing usernames, and fingerprinting a user based on writing style.
From Slate ● Feb. 5, 2025
I rearrange a few pill bottles, making sure one more time that everything is in the same chronological order as what I programmed into the app after cross-referencing his Donkey Kong-covered regimen.
From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
