cut across

British  

verb

1. (intr) to be contrary to ordinary procedure or limitations

   opinion on European integration still cuts clean across party lines

2. to cross or traverse, making a shorter route

   she cut across the field quickly

---

cut across Idioms  

1. Go beyond, transcend, as in The new regulations cut across class lines. This figurative use of cut across, which literally means “run through” or “intersect,” dates from the 1920s.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cut across

The platform’s assets, consolidated from SK affiliates, cut across solar, onshore and offshore wind and fuel cells, covering key areas of renewable energy generation except hydrogen, KKR and SK Inc., said Wednesday.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026

The dynamic cut across the software sector unequally on Friday, however.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

The court decided that allowing the appeal would have cut across "detailed and comprehensive" laws passed by parliament to protect children.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

“I don’t think about it in raw numbers. I think about it in the wealth of expertise and knowledge that has been cut across all levels,” a former senior Justice Department official said.

From Salon ● Apr. 22, 2026

Merry went in front leading a laden pony, and took his way along a path that went through a spinney behind the house, and then cut across several fields.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• cruise
• navigate
• pass over
• ply
• sail
• span
• traverse